Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body yellow with extensive light brown markings - in ocellar triangle, sub-medially on pronotum and metanotum, medially on tergites II–VIII; antennae uniformly brown; legs mainly yellow; fore wings brown. Antennae 8-segmented; segment I without paired dorso-apical setae; III–IV with apex drawn out into neck, sense cone forked, long and slender. Head wider than long; 2 pairs of ocellar setae, pair III longer than side of ocellar triangle, arising between posterior ocelli. Pronotum with 2 pairs of long posteroangular setae, 2 pairs of posteromarginal setae. Metanotum weakly reticulate medially, median setae not at anterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Mesofurca with spinula, metafurca without spinula. Fore wing first vein with 3 setae on distal half, second vein with 4 setae. Tergites with no sculpture mesad of setae pair S2; VIII without posteromarginal comb; X without dorsal split. Sternites with 3 pairs of marginal setae, median setae on VII in front of margin.
Male macroptera. Similar to but smaller than female, antennal II pale; tergite IX with 2 stout thorn-like setae medially; sternite VII with small pore plate medially.

Related species

The genus Bathrips currently includes three species, although neither of the other two are satisfactorily distinguished from B. melanicornis. This species is similar to species of Trichromothrips but lacks a pair of dorso-apical setae on the first antennal segment.

Biological data

Apparently feeding and breeding on the leaves of various vegetable crops, including Solanum, Glycine; also Lantana sp.

Distribution data

Widespread in tropical Asia, including India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Java, Bali, Thailand, Taiwan, East Timor, Australia (New South Wales, Queensland).

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Bathrips melanicornis (Shumsher)

Original name and synonyms

Taeniothrips melanicornis Shumsher, 1946: 179.

References

Mound LA & Tree DJ (2007) Oriental and Pacific Thripidae (Thysanoptera) new to Australia, with a new species of Pseudodendrothrips Schmutz. Australian Entomologist 34: 7–14.

Mound LA & Ng YF (2009) An illustrated key to the genera of Thripinae (Thysanoptera) from South East Asia. Zootaxa 2265: 27–47. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2009/f/zt02265p047.pdf