Distinguishing features

Female macropterous. Mature colour dark brown (abdomen golden in less mature adults), but tergites VIII-X paler and X with apex brown; legs yellow; antennal segments III–V and VII-VIII yellow, VI brown in apical half; fore wing pale with hind margin shaded. Head strongly reticulate, cheeks constricted at base. Antennal segments III and IV with simple sensorium; VIII much longer than VII. Pronotum reticulate. Metanotum with strongly reticulate triangle, median setae small on anterior half of sclerite. Fore wing with apex rounded bearing two long cilia; costa with long cilia, posteromarginal cilia not wavy; veinal setae not much larger than surface microtrichia. Abdominal tergites II-VIII median setae long and close together; VIII with long posteromarginal comb; X short median split complete.

Related species

The genus Heliothrips includes three recognisable species, one from South Africa and two from South America of which H. haemorrhoidalis is now worldwide. Probably originally from Peru near the western border of Brazil, the most closely related species is H. zucchii from the south east of Brazil.

Biological data

The greenhouse thrips is often considered a pest, although adults, larvae and pupae are usually most abundant only on older senescing leaves, and on plants that are growing suboptimally. A very large population in eastern Australia was observed on tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) under water stress due to flooding. This thrips is associated with many different plant species, including tea, Pinus, and ferns.

Distribution data

Known as the Greenhouse Thrips in temperate areas, this species occurs worldwide in the tropics and sub-tropics, and presumably evolved somewhere in Brazil.

Family name

THRIPIDAE, PANCHAETOTHRIPINAE

Species name

Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis (Bouché)

Original name and synonyms

Thrips haemorrhoidalis Bouché, 1833: 42
Heliothrips adonidum Haliday, 1836: 443
Thrips haemorrhoidalis var. abdominalis Reuter, 1891: 165
Thrips haemorrhoidalis var. ceylonica Schmutz, 1913: 992
Thrips haemorrhoidalis var. angustior Priesner, 1923: 89
Heliothrips semiaureus Girault, 1928: 1
Dinurothrips rufiventris Girault, 1929: 1.

References

ThripsWiki (2020) Thrips Wiki-providing information on the World’s thrips. Available from: http://thrips.info/wiki/Main Page [accessed 28.viii.2019].

Wilson TH (1975) A monograph of the subfamily Panchaetothripinae (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 23: 1–354.