Thrips albopilosusThrips albopilosusBoth sexes fully winged. Body and legs yellow, major setae pale, antennal segments I–IV yellow, V light brown on distal half, VI–VII light brown; fore wings pale. Antennae 7-segmented; III–IV each with forked sense cone. Head with 2 pairs of ocellar setae; pair III no longer than distance between 2 ocelli, arising on outer margins of triangle; postocular setae pairs I & III slightly longer than ocellar setae III, postocular setae pair II smaller. Pronotum with 2 pairs of posteroangular setae; posterior margin with 3 pairs of setae; discal area with widely spaced irregular transverse striae. Mesonotum without anterior pair of campaniform sensilla; median setae arise well in front of posterior margin. Metanotum with irregular reticulation medially; median setae arising behind anterior margin; campaniform sensilla present. Fore wing first vein with 3 setae on distal half; second vein with about 11 setae. Abdominal tergite II with 3 lateral marginal setae; tergites V–VIII with paired ctenidia, on VIII posteromesad to spiracles; tergite VIII posteromarginal comb absent medially, with a few microtrichia laterally; pleurotergites with no discal setae, posterior margin with a few small microtrichia; tergite IX with 2 pairs of campaniform sensilla, X with median split. Sternites with no discal setae; sternite VII marginal setae S1 arise in front of margin.
Male smaller than female; tergite VIII with no posteromarginal comb; tergite IX median setae slender, arising in a transverse row of 4 setae posterior to campaniform sensilla; sternites III–VII with broad transverse pore plate.
The genus Thrips is the second largest genus in the Thysanoptera, and currently includes, worldwide, over 290 species. All members of genus Thrips lack ocellar setae I on the head, and they all have ctenidia on tergite VIII posteromesad to the spiracles. Other characters, such as number of antennal segments, number of setae on the fore wing veins, and number of discal setae on the sternites are variable between species (Palmer, 1992; Nakahara, 1994; Mound & Masumoto, 2005). In structure, albopilosus is particularly similar to Thrips major, but the body and legs are uniformly yellow in colour.
Feeding and breeding in the flowers of its host plants, and apparently specific to Humulus lupulus [Cannabaceae].
In Britain, recorded only from a limited number of sites in the south of England (Mound et al., 1976), and not since 1965. It is widespread across central and eastern Europe from Finland southwards as far as Iran.
THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE
Thrips albopilosa Uzel
Thrips albopilosa Uzel, 1895: 190
Thrips obscuricornis Priesner, 1920: 59
Mound LA & Masumoto M (2005) The genus Thrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand. Zootaxa 1020: 1–64.
Mound LA, Morison GD, Pitkin BR & Palmer JM (1976) Thysanoptera. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects 1 (11): 1–79.
Nakahara S (1994) The genus Thrips Linnaeus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) of the New World. United States Department of Agriculture. Technical Bulletin 1822: 1–183.
Palmer JM (1992) Thrips (Thysanoptera) from Pakistan to the Pacific: a review. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology Series 61 (1): 1–76.
