Head & pronotum

Metanotum

Tergite VIII

Sternites VI-VII

Distinguishing features

Female fully winged. Body and legs yellow, antennal segments V–VI brown distally, fore wing pale with darker area at base and medially with short darker band. Antennae 8-segmented; VIII long and slender; segments III–IV each with a long forked sense cone but no microtrichia. Head with ocellar setae pair I not present, pair III small and arising on inner margins of ocellar triangle. Pronotum with 1 pair of prominent posteroangular setae. Metanotum reticulate, median setae small, well behind anterior margin, campaniform sensilla present. Fore wing slender, first vein with 3 widely spaced setae on distal half, second vein with 3 or 4 setae; postero-marginal cilia wavy. Tergites with transverse sculpture medially, posterior margin with complete craspedum; tergite VIII with extensive plastron-like sculpture extending around spiracle to antecostal ridge. Sternite II with two discal setae,  III–VI with large lobed marginal craspedum.
Male not known.

Related species

The genus Chaetanaphothrips currently includes 20 species, mostly from southeastern Asia (Nonaka & Okajima, 1992), but with three that have become widely distributed around the world. Two of these, leeuweni and signipennis, have only a single pair of pronotal posteroangular setae, whereas orchidii has two pairs of such setae (Mound & Marullo, 1996).

Biological data

Probably polyphagous, but recorded particularly from banana leaves in Asia and has been regarded as a pest of banana (Pitkin, 1977; as C. clarus).

Distribution data

Not a British species, but recorded once in Britain when two adults and a larva were found on cocoa plants in a greenhouse at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Collins, 2010a). Widely dispersed  in tropical and subtropical countries.

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Chaetanaphothrips leeuweni (Karny)

Original name and synonyms

Euthrips leeuweni Karny, 1914: 358
Scirtothrips clarus Moulton, 1942: 8

References

Collins DW (2010a) Thysanoptera of Great Britain: a revised and updated checklist. Zootaxa 2412: 21–41.

Mound LA & Marullo R (1996) The thrips of Central and South America: an introduction. Memoirs on Entomology, International 6: 1–488.

Nonaka T & Okajima S (1992) Descriptions of seven new species of the genus Chaetanaphothrips Priesner (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) from East Asia. Japanese Journal of Entomology 60 (2): 433–447.

Pitkin BR (1977) A revision of the genus Chaetanaphothrips Priesner (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research 67: 599–605.