Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body, legs and antennae light brown, fore tarsi and antennal segment III yellowish; fore wings uniformly pale. Antennae 9-segmented, segment I with short serrate process; sensoria on III–IV incomplete dorsally, with internal markings; IX about as long as VIII. Head with ocellar setae III no longer than length of an ocellus, arising on anterior margins of ocellar triangle. Pronotum with no microtrichia, posterior half with weak transverse reticulation, all setae small to minute. Mesonotum with no microtrichia, lateral setae short. Metanotum with concentric lines at anterior bearing microtrichia. Fore wing setae scarcely longer than width of veins. Fore tibial apex with two stout ventro-lateral setae. Abdominal tergites with weak sculpture lines medially, many microtrichia laterally; tergite VIII median setae about 0.4 as long as tergite; dorsal setae on IX–X moderately stout. Sternite II with 2 pairs of posteromarginal setae, III–VI with 4 pairs; median sternites with 6 to 10 discal setae, sternite VII with discal setae laterally but not medially.
Male smaller than female, fore tibiae with small pointed tubercle on inner apex, inner margin with three or four smaller tubercles; tergite I with pair of longitudinal ridges.

Related species

Twelve species are currently described in the genus Cranothrips, 11 from Australia and one from South Africa (Pereyra & Mound, 2009). C. symoni is related to C. sititor and C. vesper, but is unusual in that the male has a row of small tubercles on the inner margin of the fore tibia.

Biological data

Locally abundant Breeding in the blue flowers of Brunonia australis[Goodeniaceae], and presumably pupating at soil level.

Distribution data

Australia, across the arid zone between the Simpson Desert and Port Hedland.

Family name

MELANTHRIPIDAE

Species name

Cranothrips symoni Mound

Original name and synonyms

Cranothrips symoni Mound, 1972: 45

References

Mound LA (1972) Further studies on Australian Aeolothripidae (Thysanoptera). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 11: 37–54.

Pereyra V & Mound LA (2009) Phylogenetic relationships within the genus Cranothrips (Thysanoptera, Melanthripidae) with consideration of host associations and disjunct distributions within the family. Systematic Entomology 34: 151–161.