Thrips funebrisThrips funebrisBoth sexes micropterous. Body, legs and antennae dark brown, major setae dark; antennal segment III light brown. Head with 2 pairs of ocellar setae; pair III no longer than distance between 2 ocelli, arising just outside ocellar triangle. Antennae 7-segmented, III–IV each with short forked sense cone. Pronotum with 2 pairs of posteroangular setae; posterior margin with 3 pairs of setae; discal area almost without sculptured striae, discal area posterior third with no setae medially. Metanotum with irregular reticulation medially; median setae arising behind anterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Abdominal tergite II with 3 lateral marginal setae; tergites V–VIII with paired ctenidia, on VIII posteromesad to spiracles; III–VI each with 3 pairs of equally long discal setae in transverse row; tergite VIII posteromarginal comb represented by a few triangular teeth; pleurotergites with no discal setae; tergite IX with 2 pairs of campaniform sensilla, X with median split. Sternites with no discal setae.
Male micropterous, yellow, smaller than female; tergite VIII with no posteromarginal comb; tergite IX median setae slender, transverse row of 4 setae posterior to campaniform sensilla; sternites III–VII each with transversely oval 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). Thrips funebris is unusual within the genus Thrips in that the pronotum lacks any setae postero-medially on the discal area.
Feeding and breeding on the leaves of its host plants, and collected from several plant species in wet places, particularly Triglochin maritima [Juncaginaceae].
Described from a female collected at Hengistbury Head, Dorset (Bagnall, 1924b). Taken very rarely in Britain, and only in the south of England (Mound et al., 1976), but also known from Norway, the Netherlands and Germany (zur Strassen, 2003).
THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE
Thrips funebris Bagnall
Thrips funebris Bagnall, 1924: 274
Bagnall RS (1924b) New and rare British Thysanoptera. Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 60: 269–275.
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.
zur Strassen R (2003) Die terebranten Thysanopteren Europas und des Mittelmeer-Gebietes. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands 74: 1–271.
