Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body and legs yellow, ovipositor, apex of abdominal tergite X and apex of mouth cone darker; antennal segments I-IV yellow, V light brown distally, VI brown with base paler; fore wings pale. Antennae 8-segmented, III–IV with forked sense cone. Head small, wider than long, without sculpture in ocellar region; 3 pairs of small ocellar setae present, pair III arising between anterior margins of hind ocelli; postocular setae very small; mouth cone extending to mesosternum. Pronotum slightly longer than wide, narrowed to anterior; posterior msrgin with 6 pairs of setae, one pair prominent. Metanotum almost striate medially, campaniform sensilla present but small; median setae short, arising just behind anterior margin. Prosternal basantra weakly sclerotised, ferna curved forwards medially. Meso- and metafurca without spinula. Fore tibia with two tubercles at apex each bearing a seta. Fore wing first vein with 3 widely spaced setae on distal half, second vein with 4 setae; clavus with 5 veinal and one discal setae, terminal veinal seta almost twice length of sub-apical seta. Tergites II–VIII with broad unlobed craspedum, median setae small and anterior to campaniform sensilla; X with median split almost complete. Sternites without discal setae; II–VI with broad craspedum forming 5 lobes between marginal setae, setae S3 arising at posterior angle of each sternite; sternite VII with setae S1 and S2 minute, scarcely longer than their pores, and close together medially.
Male macroptera. Similar to female, but large and small males differ in size. Fore coxa with hook-like tubercle on inner posterior margin. Large male with 15 stout setae laterally on mesosternum, small male with about 5 such setae. Tergital craspedum on III–VIII strongly toothed across full width; IX with medio-dorsal setae arising from distinct tubercles. Sternites with no pore plates; IX anterolaterally with group of microtrichia.

Related species

The genus Rhamphothrips currently includes 16 species (Mound & Tree, 2011), and each of them has the two median pairs of setae on sternite VII close together and distant from the lateral pair. Moreover, the head is particularly small, the mouth cone elongate, and the pronotum unusually long. R. tenuirostris has both pairs of median setae on sternit VII minute, scarcely longer than the pores from which they arise. Moreover, the male has a hook-like projection on the inner posterior margin of the fore coxae.

Biological data

Feeding and breeding on the leaves of Uncaria lanosa [Rubiaceae].

Distribution data

Described from Java, ?India, and recorded from Queensland, Australia; also ?India.

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Rhamphothrips tenuirostris (Karny)

Original name and synonyms

Rhynchothrips tenuirostris Karny, 1912: 297.

References

Mound LA & Tree DJ (2011) New records and four new species of Australian Thripidae (Thysanoptera) emphasise faunal relationships between northern Australia and Asia. Zootaxa 2764 : 35–48. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2011/f/zt02764p048.pdf