Ceratothrips ericaeCeratothrips ericaeFemale fully winged. Body, legs and antennae brown; fore wings light brown, darkest at apex. Antennae 8-segmented; segments III–IV with short forked sense cone; segment VIII slightly longer than VI. Head with 3 pairs of ocellar setae, pair III longer than distance between hind ocelli, arising outside ocellar triangle; maxillary palps 3-segmented. Pronotum slightly trapezoidal, with no sculpture lines; with 2 pairs of long posteroangular setae, 4 pairs of posteromarginal setae. Metanotum weakly sculptured with reticulate lines almost arcuate; median setae arising at anterior margin; campaniform sensilla present. Fore wing first vein with 2–3 setae on distal half; second vein with complete row of 10–12 setae. Abdominal tergite II with 3 lateral marginal setae, III–VIII medially with sculpture lines present only anterior to median setae; tergite VIII with no ctenidia but with a few scattered microtrichia antero-mesad to spiracle, posteromarginal comb absent; tergite IX usually with 2 pairs of campaniform sensilla, X with almost complete longitudinal split. Sternites without discal setae, setae S1 arising on or very close to posterior margin.
Male apterous and larviform, yellow to brownish-yellow; sternites III–VIII each with one long and two short transverse pore plates.
There is now only one species placed in the genus Ceratothrips, although this has had a history of being placed at various times in association with species that are now in Taeniothrips and Tenothrips (Bhatti, 1990c).
Feeding and breeding in the flowers of species in various Ericaceae genera, including Erica and Calluna in Britain, but also recorded from Vaccinium and Arctostaphylos in Europe (zur Strassen, 2003).
Recorded throughout Britain, from the Isles of Scilly and Kent to the Shetland Islands, and also from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (Mound et al., 1976). Widespread across northern, western and central Europe.
THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE
Ceratothrips ericae (Haliday)
Thrips ericae Haliday, 1836: 448
Oxythrips parviceps Uzel, 1895: 139
Thrips piceicornis Reuter, 1899: 60
Ceratothrips trybomi Reuter, 1899: 65
Amblythrips ericae Bagnall, 1911: 4
Oxythrips brevicollis Bagnall, 1911: 6
Oxythrips pallens Priesner, 1919: 89
Amblythrips ericicola Bagnall, 1927: 573
Taeniothrips ericae f. adusta Maltbaek, 1929: 376
Amblythrips remaudierei Bournier, 1975: 137
Bhatti JS (1990c) The genera Ceratothrips and Tenothrips (Insecta: Terebrantia: Thripidae). Zoology (Journal of Pure and Applied Zoology) 2 (4): 201–204.
Mound LA, Morison GD, Pitkin BR & Palmer JM (1976) Thysanoptera. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects 1 (11): 1–79.
zur Strassen R (2003) Die terebranten Thysanopteren Europas und des Mittelmeer-Gebietes. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands 74: 1–271.
