Distinguishing features

Both sexes fully winged. Body, legs and antennae brown to dark brown, fore tarsi and base of antennal segment III yellowish; fore wing pale with base dark; major setae light brown. Antennae 8-segmented, segment III with 2 sense cones, IV with 4 sense cones; VIII weakly narrowed to base. Head longer than wide; maxillary stylets 50% of head width apart, retracted to postocular setae, maxillary bridge complete; postocular setae bluntly pointed, about as long as dorsal length of compound eye. Pronotum with only 2 pairs of major setae, with apices pointed, anteromarginal and anteroangular setae no larger than discal setae, also midlaterals; epimeral sutures complete; prosternal basantra present, mesopresternum eroded to paired lateral triangles, weakly connected medially. Fore wing constricted medially, with about 7 duplicated cilia; sub-basal setae arise in a line, with pointed apices. Tergite IX setae S1 pointed, about 0.5 as long as tube.
Male with no pore plate on sternite VIII; fore tarsal tooth present; tergite IX setae S2 short and stout; aedeagus apex similar to that of leucanthemi.

Related species

The genus Haplothrips is one of the three most species-rich genera of Thysanoptera, and currently includes about 245 species worldwide. Most of these species come from the Holarctic or the Old World tropics, with 80 listed from Europe and 14 from Britain. No Haplothrips species is known to be endemic to the Neotropics, although a few are native to southern South America (Mound & Zapater, 2003). Haplothrips species are largely phytophagous, particularly associated with the flowers of Asteraceae and Poaceae, but some are predatory (Mound & Minaei, 2007). Haplothrips jasionis is similar to helianthemi in having only two pairs of long major setae on the pronotum. Both species have the tube relatively long, but in jasionis the length of the tube is about 30% of the head length, whereas in helianthemi it is scarcely 25% of the head length.

Biological data

Breeding in the flowers of Jasione montana [Campanulaceae].

Distribution data

In Britain, recorded only from Hampshire and Carnarvon (Mound et al., 1976). Currently known only from a small number of central European countries, but it is probably more widespread across northern Europe together with its host plant.

Family name

PHLAEOTHRIPIDAE - PHLAEOTHRIPINAE

Species name

Haplothrips jasionis Priesner

Original name and synonyms

Haplothrips jasionis Priesner, 1950: 73

References

Mound LA & Minaei K (2007) Australian insects of the Haplothrips lineage (Thysanoptera – Phlaeothripinae). Journal of Natural History 41: 2919–2978.

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

Mound LA & Zapater MC (2003) South American Haplothrips species (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae), with a new species of biological control interest to Australia against weedy Heliotropium amplexicaule (Boraginaceae). Neotropical Entomology 32: 437–442.