Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body, legs and antennae brown to light brown, antennal segment III paler; fore wings uniformly pale brown. Antennae 9-segmented, segment I with short toothed process; sensoria on III–IV incomplete dorsally, with weak internal markings; IX slightly longer than VIII. Head with ocellar setae III arising on anterior margins of triangle. Pronotum with weak transversely reticulate sculpture lines but no microtrichia, with about 10 pairs of short discal setae; no long setae on anterior margin, posterior angles with 2 pairs of long setae. Mesonotum with lateral setae not elongate, no microtrichia on anterior half. Metanotum with microtrichia on elongate concentric lines at anterior, posterior half without microtrichia. Fore wing setae about as long as distance between costa and first vein. Fore tibial apex with no stout ventro-lateral setae Abdominal tergites I–VII with weak sculpture lines medially; tergite VIII median setae about 0.4 as long as tergite; dorsal setae on IX–X slender. Sternite II with 2 pairs of posteromarginal setae and 0–1 discal setae; sternites III–VI with 4 pairs, sternite VII with discal setae laterally but not medially.
Male smaller than female, 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. vesper is similar to C. conostylus and C. symoni, in having the median pair of setae on tergite VIII unusually short.

Biological data

Known only from a few specimens taken from "everlasting flowers" [Asteraceae].

Distribution data

Western Australia, Nullarbor Plain.

Family name

MELANTHRIPIDAE

Species name

Cranothrips vesper Mound

Original name and synonyms

Cranothrips vesper Mound, 1972: 46

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.