Stenothrips graminumStenothrips graminumBoth sexes fully winged. Body and femora light brown, tibiae and tarsi brownish-yellow, antennal segment III yellow; fore wings weakly shaded. Antennae 7-segmented; segments III–IV with forked sense cone; III with long pedicel. Head longer than wide, with two pairs of ocellar setae; pair III small, arising outside ocellar triangle close to compound eye; postocular setae pair II displaced posterior to this row of setae; maxillary palps 2-segmented. Pronotum transversely striate, with 2 pairs of long posteroangular setae, 4–5 pairs of posteromarginal setae. Mesonotum with transverse sculpture lines, paired anterior campaniform sensilla present. Metanotum closely striate, median setae arising behind anterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Fore wing first vein with 3 setae on distal half; second vein with row of about 12 setae. Abdominal tergite II with 3 lateral marginal setae; tergites with transversely reticulate sculpture lines, V–VIII with paired ctenidia laterally, on VIII posteromesad to spiracles; posterior margins of II–VII with translucent triangular teeth, VIII with complete comb of microtrichia; pleurotergites without discal setae. Sternites without discal setae, marginal setae S1 on VII arising well in front of posterior margin.
Male smaller and paler than female; tergite VIII with comb of irregular teeth; sternites III–VII with large oval pore plate.
Only one species is placed in the genus Stenothrips (Bhatti & Mound, 1980). Together with the two Baliothrips species, these three possibly represent a European radiation of grass-living species from the genus Thrips, in which there is a tendency to reduce the maxillary palps to a 2-segmented condition. This contrasts with the Asian radiation of grass-living species derived from Thrips that are placed in Stenchaetothrips and Fulmekiola, all of which have 3-segmented palps. S. graminis differs from the two Baliothrips species in its elongate head and in having numerous transverse lines of sculpture on the pronotum.
Feeding on the leaves of various species of Poaceae, including cereal crops.
Widespread in England and Wales as far north as Yorkshire (Mound et al., 1976), this species is common across Europe from Norway southwards, and its range extends to Iran.
THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE
Stenothrips graminum Uzel
Stenothrips graminum Uzel, 1895: 210
Bagnallia capito Karny, 1910: 54
Stenothrips graminum f. adusta Priesner, 1927: 460
Stenothrips graminum f. obscura Priesner, 1927: 461
Thrips anellicornis Keler, 1936: 116
Bhatti JS & Mound LA (1980) The genera of grass and cereal-feeding Thysanoptera related to the genus Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Bulletin of Entomology 21: 1–22.
Mound LA, Morison GD, Pitkin BR & Palmer JM (1976) Thysanoptera. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects 1 (11): 1–79.
