Female

Antennal segment IV  

Meso & metanotum

Female sternites VI–VII

Male head & pronotum

Male antennal segment III (dorsal and ventral)

Male thorax and tergite I

Distinguishing features

Female macropterous. Body, legs and antennae brown; antennal segments III–IV largely yellow, III with apical dark ring, IV weakly shaded in apical fifth; fore wing uniformly dark. Head longer than wide, prolonged in front of eyes, not recessed into anterior margin of pronotum. Antennae 9-segmented, unusually elongate; III–IV with sensory area formed of irregular scallops extending to basal third of segment. Mesonotum without sculpture on anterior two-thirds, one pair of setae medially. Metanotum with no sculpture medially. Fore wing slender with apex rounded. Abdominal tergite I anterior margin not sharply constricted, tergites without sculpture; trichobothria on X minute; sternites IV–VII each with two pairs of marginal setae and two pairs of setae laterally on discal area.
Male slender, colour similar to female but antennal segments almost uniformly brown; tergite I prolonged posteriorly; sternites with two pairs of marginal setae but only one pair of long setae on discal area. 

Related species

Currently 14 species are placed in the genus Franklinothrips, all from tropical and subtropical countries, although more undescribed species are known from Southeast Asia (Mound & Reynaud, 2005). Within this genus, F. bassetti appears to be the least well-developed ant-mimic. The base of the abdomen is not constricted to form a waist, and the fore wings are uniformly dusky, not banded.

Biological data

Known only from two females and one male collected from the canopy of rainforest trees.

Distribution data

Collected in southeastern Queensland, Australia.

Family name

AEOLOTHRIPIDAE

Species name

Franklinothrips basseti Mound & Marullo

Original name and synonyms

Franklinothrips basseti Mound & Marullo, 1998: 944

References

Mound LA & Marullo R (1998) Biology and identification of Aeolothripidae (Thysanoptera) in Australia. Invertebrate Taxonomy 12: 929–950.

Mound LA & Reynaud P (2005) Franklinothrips; a pantropical Thysanoptera genus of ant-mimicking obligate predators (Aeolothripidae). Zootaxa 864: 1–16.