Print Fact SheetCephalothrips monilicornis

Distinguishing features

Female fully winged or wingless. Body and legs brown, tarsi and apices of tibiae yellow; antennal segment III brown, IV–VI yellow in basal half; fore wings pale. Antennae 8-segmented; segment III with 1 sense cone, IV with 2 sense cones; segment VII with broad pedicel. Head longer than wide, eyes large and prolonged posteriorly on ventral surface; postocular setae small, wide apart; maxillary stylets retracted to postocular setae, about one fifth of head width apart. Pronotum with only 2 pairs of major setae, epimerals weakly capitate, posteroangulars blunt at apex; prosternal basantra not present. Fore tarsus with small sharply pointed tooth. Metanotum without sculpture. Fore wings parallel sided, without duplicated cilia. Tergal wing-retaining setae weak; tergite IX setae S1 and S2 weakly capitate, shorter than basal width of tube.

Related species

There are eight species listed under the genus Cephalothrips from various parts of the world, Europe, Morocco, Kyrgystan, Sichuan (China), South Africa, Cuba and California. C. monilicornis is distinguished from most of these by having the eyes prolonged on the ventral surface of the head. The only other Phlaeothripidae in Britain that are associated with grasses are Bolothrips dentipes and three species of Haplothrips.

Biological data

Breeding at the base of grasses and apparently feeding on leaf tissues.

Distribution data

In Britain taken infrequently but widely between Kent and northern Scotland, although mostly from southern England (Mound et al., 1976). Recorded widely across Europe, its range extending south east to Iran, but also recorded from North America (Hoddle et al., 2012).

Family name

PHLAEOTHRIPIDAE - PHLAEOTHRIPINAE

Species name

Cephalothrips monilicornis (Reuter)

Original name and synonyms

Phloeothrips monilicornis Reuter, 1880: 21

References

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

Hoddle MS, Mound LA, Paris DL (2012) Thrips of California2012.  CBIT Publishing, Queensland. http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/thrips_of_california/Thrips_of_California.html