Distinguishing features

Both sexes fully winged. Body almost white, fore wings uniformly blackish brown; antennal segments II–VII increasingly brown. Head wider than long, with no sculpture lines; ocellar setae small, pair III arise lateral to ocellar triangle. Antennae 7-segmented; segments III–IV with sense cone forked in female but simple in male, segment VI inner margin with long sense cone arising close to base of segment, VII long. Pronotum with transverse sculpture lines and pair of stout transverse apodemes latero-medially; 4 pairs of posteromarginal setae, two pairs of long posteroangular setae. Metanotum with elongate reticulation, median pair of setae far behind anterior margin. Fore wing first vein with two prominent setae on distal half, cilia arising close to anterior margin. Tergites with fine microtrichia on lateral sculpture lines; median pair of tergal setae longer than distance between their bases; posterior margin of VIII with complete comb; tergite X with no longitudinal split.

Related species

The genus Leucothrips includes five species, all from the New World. The genus is not clearly distinguished from the Neotropical genus Halmathrips, and is also closely related to Pseudodendrothrips. The sense cones on antennal segments III and IV vary between species and also between sexes, being either forked or simple, but all of the species have 7-segmented antennae.

Biological data

Breeding on the fronds of various fern species, including Adiantum sp., Davallia sp., Pteris cretica, Pteris argyraea, and Hypolepis rugulosa.

Distribution data

Presumably Neotropical in origin, and recorded from Brazil, Australia, India, Europe, and U.S.A.

Family name

THRIPIDAE - DENDROTHRIPINAE

Species name

Leucothrips nigripennis Reuter

Original name and synonyms

Leucothrips nigripennis Reuter, 1904: 106.
Microthrips leucus Herrick, 1927: 278.
Sporagiothrips acuminatus Daniel, 1985: 528.

References

Mound LA (1999) Saltatorial leaf-feeding Thysanoptera (Thripidae, Dendrothripinae) in Australia and New Caledonia, with newly recorded pests of ferns, figs and mulberries. Australian Journal of Entomology 38: 257–273.

Mound LA & Tree DJ (2016) Genera of the leaf-feeding Dendrothripinae (Thysanoptera, Thripidae), with new species from Australia and Sulawesi, Indonesia. Zootaxa 4109 (5): 569–582.

ThripsWiki (2020) ThripsWiki - providing information on the World's thrips. Available from: http://thrips.info/wiki/Main_Page [accessed 12.xii.2019].