Psydrothrips kewiPsydrothrips kewiFemale fully winged. Body bicoloured, yellow to light brown; head dark laterally but yellow medially, pronotum light brown, tergites III–VII with dark area medially including antecostal ridge; antennal segments III–IX yellow to light brown; fore wings dark. Antennae 9-segmented, VI fully divided with apex constricted from base of VII; III–IV each with constricted apical neck, sense cone forked. Head with three pairs of ocellar setae, pair III anterolateral to first ocellus and as long as side of ocellar triangle; 3 pairs of postocular setae arising in a longitudinal row from behind the ocelli; maxillary palps 3-segmented. Pronotum with one pair of long posteroangular setae. Mesonotum without anterior campaniform sensilla. Metanotum reticulate, median setae behind anterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Fore wing first vein with 3 setae on distal half, second vein with about 15 setae. Abdominal tergites with no sculpture lines medially, median pair of setae small and not close together; tergite VIII with complete comb of long regular microtrichia; IX with 2 pairs of campaniform sensilla, X with no split. Sternites with transverse row of 8–10 discal setae, marginal setae S1 on VII arising at margin.
Male not known; however, the male of luteolus was described from Hawaii as macropterous, similar to female, with 2 pairs of stout setae medially on tergite IX, and a glandular opening medially between sternites II and III.
Only two species, kewi and luteolus (Nakahara & Tsuda, 1994), are recognized in this genus. Psydrothrips is one of several Thripinae genera from the Neotropics with 9-segmented antennae (Palmer & Mound, 1985).
Found on leaves of Philodendron, and probably certain other Araceae.
Described originally from a population causing damage to a number of Philodendron species (from Trinidad) in a greenhouse at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, (Palmer & Mound, 1985), but the population was eradicated by the plant health authorities and there have been no further findings in Britain (Collins, 2010a). Also recorded from Mexico (Mound & Marullo, 1996).
THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE
Psydrothrips kewi Palmer & Mound
Psydrothrips kewi Palmer & Mound, 1985: 192
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 (Insecta: Thysanoptera). Memoirs on Entomology, International 6: 1–487.
Nakahara S & Tsuda D (1994) Psydrothrips luteolus, new species, from Hawaii and notes on P. kewi (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 96: 156–161.
Palmer JM & Mound LA (1985) New World Thripidae (Thysanoptera) with nine-segmented antennae. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 84: 181–194.
