Distinguishing features

Female fully winged. Body brown, tarsi and antennal segment III yellowish; fore wings light brown. Antennae 8-segmented; segment III not asymmetric, III and IV each with sense cone forked. Head longer than wide, projecting in front of eyes; three pairs of ocellar setae present, pair III anterolateral to triangle, scarcely longer than distance between two ocelli, pairs I and II arising far forward close to antennal bases; maxillary palps 2-segmented. Pronotum with one pair of long posteroangular setae. Metanotum reticulate, campaniform sensilla present on anterior half of sclerite, median setae arise behind anterior margin. Fore wing first vein with 2 setae on distal half, second vein with about 8 setae. Abdominal tergites reticulate medially, with one pair of campaniform sensilla close to posterior margin; craspedum not developed; tergite X with one pair of stout black thorn-like setae at posterior. Sternites II–VII with 5–10 discal setae, without craspeda.
Male apterous, without ocelli on head; tergite IX medially with pair of stout thorn-like setae on tubercles, posterolateral pair of setae also short and stout; sternites III–VII with small sub-circular pore plate.

Related species

Although eight species are listed in the genus Limothrips (eg., zur Strassen, 2003), L. clarus was recently declared a nomen dubium that was presumably based on a larva, and L. serotina was synonymised with Thrips tabaci (Mound & Sahin Negus, 2024). The six Limothrips species all live on various grasses, and are distinguished from other grass-living Thripinae by the stout pair of thorn-like setae at the apex of the tenth abdominal segment. Although they are originally from Europe, three species are now widespread around the world. Unlike cerealium, both tergites IX and X of L. schmutzi bear stout setae.

Biological data

Feeding and breeding on the leaves and in the flowers of grasses, and is particularly associated with species of Bromus [Poaceae].

Distribution data

Collected only three times in south-east England and not since 1952 (Mound et al., 1976), this species appears to be most common in south-eastern Europe, and has been found as far afield as Iran.

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Limothrips schmutzi Priesner

Original name and synonyms

Limothrips schmutzi Priesner, 1919: 33

References

Mound LA, Morison GD, Pitkin BR & Palmer JM (1976) Thysanoptera. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects 1 (11): 1–79.

Mound, L.A. & Şahin Negiş, İ. (2024). Two enigmatic species epithets in the genus Limothrips (Thysanoptera, Thripinae). Zootaxa 5512 (4): 597–598.

zur Strassen R (2003) Die terebranten Thysanopteren Europas und des Mittelmeer-Gebietes. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands 74: 1–271.