Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body brown, fore wings weakly shaded. Antennae 8-segmented, II with external margin hook-shaped with sensorium at apex; III–IV with stout simple sense cone. Head scarcely prolonged in front of eyes; 3 pairs of ocellar setae, pair III on anterior margins of triangle. Pronotum trapezoidal, 2 pairs of posteroangular setae. Metanotum irregularly reticulate, median setal pair longer than lateral pair. Prosternal ferna divided medially; basantra rugose, triangular; prospinasternum transverse, narrow. Mesothoracic sternopleural sutures complete; meta pre-episternum reduced, triangular, not broadly band-like. Meso and metasternal furca with well-developed lateral flanges, without spinula. Fore wing pointed at apex, first vein with 2–3 setae on distal half, second vein with 5–6 setae. Tergites with weak lines of sculpture medially, posterior margins with lobed craspedum; ovipositor moderately developed and bearing rows of teeth. Sternites with 3 pairs of marginal setae; posterior margins with craspedum of small pointed lobes.
Male macroptera. Similar to female; tergal sculpture stronger; sternites III–VII with large circular pore plate

Related species

zur Strassen (1960) provided identification keys to over 50 species of Chirothrips, but Bhatti (1990) created six new genera for species placed originally in this genus. One of these six, Arorathrips, is represented in Australia. Chirothrips appears to be a genus of Holarctic species, whereas Arorathrips is from the New World. C. ah is a member of a group of African species in which antennal segment II is drawn out into a point with a rounded sensory area at the apex.

Biological data

Breeding and pupating within individual florets of various Poaceae with no recorded specificity.

Distribution data

Recorded from South Africa, Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia (Queensland, northern New South Wales).

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Chirothrips ah Girault

Original name and synonyms

Chirothrips ah Girault, 1929: 1
Chirothrips hoodi Jacot-Guillarmod, 1941: 80.

References

Bhatti JS (1990) On some genera related to Chirothrips (Insecta: Terebrantia: Thripidae). Zoology (Journal of Pure and Applied Zoology) 2: 193–200.

Mound LA & Palmer JM (1972) Grass-flower infesting thrips of the genus Chirothrips Haliday in Australia. Journal of the Australian entomological Society 11: 332–339.

Nakahara S & Foottit RG (2012) Review of Chirothrips and related genera (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) of the Americas, with descriptions of one new genus and four new species. Zootaxa 3251: 1–29.

zur Strassen R (1960) Key to and catalogue of the known species of Chirothrips Haliday, 1836 (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Journal of the entomological Society of southern Africa 23: 144–176.