Distinguishing features

Both sexes fully winged; strongly bicoloured, mainly brown with anterior margin of pronotum yellow, also all tarsi yellow and tibiae extensively yellow; abdominal segments III–VI yellowish brown with dark antecostal ridge; fore wing with three dark and three pale bands, apex pale. Head with occipital ridge not close to posterior margin of eyes; ocellar triangle with irregular reticulation; ocellar setae III on anterior margins of triangle; three pairs of postocular setae, median pair long and arising laterally. Pronotal sculpture mainly transverse, blotch anterior margin deeply concave. Fore wing second vein with no setae. Metanotal sculpture linear on posterior half. Metasternal plate anterior margin with shallow emargination. Tergites II–VI with no marginal comb medially, VIII with complete marginal comb; tergite IX with 2 pairs of mid-dorsal setae. Sternites fully covered with microtrichia, posterior margins with groups of long microtrichia between bases of marginal setae.
Male similar to female but smaller; only sternite VII with a pore plate.

Related species

The genus Neohydatothrips comprises more than 115 described species from around the world, with several species endemic to Australia. This species has the occipital ridge on the head well separated from the posterior margins of the compound eyes.

Biological data

Feeding and breeding on the leaves and in the flowers of Tagetes species (Asteraceae), particularly French Marigold.

Distribution data

First recorded in New Zealand (AK) in 2009, this species is found widely around the world, from Mexico, El Salvador, California, Florida, Hawaii, Japan, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Kenya, Egypt and eastern Australia.

Family name

THRIPIDAE, SERICOTHRIPINAE

Species name

Neohydatothrips samayunkur Kudo

Original name and synonyms

Hydatothrips (Neohydatothrips) samayunkur Kudo

References

Hoddle MS, Mound LA, Paris DL (2012) Thrips of California 2012. CBIT Publishing, Queensland. http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/thrips_of_california/
Thrips_of_California.html

Lima E & Mound LA (2016) Species-richness in Neotropical Sericothripinae (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Zootaxa 4162 (1): 1-45.

Mound LA, Tree DC & Paris D (2012) OzThrips – Thysanoptera in Australia. http://www.ozthrips.org/

Wahab ASA, El-Sheikh MAK, Elnagar S (2015) Marigold thrips Neohydatothrips samayunkur (Kudô), a new thrips species in Egypt associated with the African marigold. African Entomology 23: 1–7.