Distinguishing features

Both sexes fully winged. Body and legs brown, tarsi yellow, antennal segment III yellowish-brown clearly paler than II and IV and bulging laterally; fore wings shaded in distal three-quarters. Antennae 8-segmented; segments III–IV each with forked sense cone. Head with cheeks convex, with 2 pairs of ocellar setae; pair III arising on anterior margins of, and slightly longer than side of, ocellar triangle; postocular setae pairs I &, to a lesser extent, III well-developed but shorter than ocellar setae pair III, postocular setae pair II small. Pronotum with 2 pairs of long posteroangular setae; posterior margin with 3 pairs. Mesonotum with anterior campaniform sensilla, median setae arise well in front of posterior margin. Metanotum with irregular longitudinal lines of sculpture; median setae arising near anterior margin; campaniform sensilla present. Fore wing first vein with 7 or more setae on distal half; second vein with complete row of about 14 setae. Abdominal tergite II with 3 lateral marginal setae, V–VIII with paired ctenidia, on VIII posteromesad to spiracles; tergite VIII posteromarginal comb usually incomplete medially, with irregular microtrichia; pleurotergites each with 3–4 discal setae, posterior margin not dentate; tergite IX with 2 pairs of campaniform sensilla, X with three-quarter length median split. Sternite II with typically only a single discal seta, III–VII with 7–14 discal setae in single or irregular double rows, most numerous on posterior sternites; sternite VII setae S1 arise in front of margin.
Male similar to female but smaller; sternites III–VII with broadly transverse pore plates in front of discal setae.

Related species

Thrips linariae is particularly similar to T. atratus but has antennal segment III bulgeing laterally and notably paler than segments II and IV. It is also similar to T. verbasci but lacks a pair of long anteromarginal setae on the pronotum, and in contrast to T. vulgatissimus it has at least five setae on the distal half of the first vein on the fore wing. The genus Thrips is the second largest genus in the Thysanoptera, and currently includes, worldwide, over 300 species. All members of genus Thrips lack ocellar setae I on the head, and they all have ctenidia on tergite VIII posteromesad to the spiracles. Other characters, such as number of antennal segments, number of setae on the fore wing veins, and number of discal setae on the sternites are variable between species (Palmer, 1992; Nakahara, 1994; Mound & Masumoto, 2005).

Biological data

Has a seemingly monophagous association with the flowers of common toadflax, Linaria vulgaris [Plantaginaceae].

Distribution data

Recorded from Scandinavia and from a belt of countries across central Europe from the Netherlands to Bulgaria (zur Strassen, 2003). First recorded from Britain in 2017 on the South Downs, West Sussex, with subsequent findings of singletons in Norfolk (Collins, 2019; 2021a) and a population near Selby, North Yorkshire.

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Thrips linariae (Priesner)

Original name and synonyms

Taeniothrips linariae Priesner, 1927: 718
Taeniothrips hildeae Titschack, 1956: 385

References

Collins DW (2019) The first British records for two species of Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae): the European species T. linariae and the Australian adventive species T. australis. British Journal of Entomology and Natural History 32: 1–8.

Collins DW (2021a) Noteworthy recent records of species of Thripidae (Thysanoptera) in Great Britain. British Journal of Entomology and Natural History 34: 169–191.

Mound LA & Masumoto M (2005) The genus Thrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand. Zootaxa 1020: 1–64.

Nakahara S (1994) The genus Thrips Linnaeus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) of the New World. United States Department of Agriculture. Technical Bulletin 1822: 1–183.

Palmer JM (1992) Thrips (Thysanoptera) from Pakistan to the Pacific: a review. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology Series 61 (1): 1–76.

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