Distinguishing features

Female macrptera. Body and femora brown, tibiae and tarsi largely yellow; antennal segment III and extreme base of IV yellow, remaining segments brown; fore wings brown with base sharply paler. Antennae 8-segmented, III–IV with constricted slender apex; VII–VIII short. Head wider than long, ocellar setae pair III small and arising on anterior margins of triangle; postocular setae pairs I & III as long as ocellar setae III, pair II minute. Pronotum with 2 pairs of long postero-angular setae; posterior margin with 3 pairs of setae. Metanotum with closely spaced, converging, longitudinal striae; median setae arising behind anterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Fore wing first and second veins with complete rows of setae; clavus with 5 marginal setae. Tergite II with 4 lateral marginal setae; tergal sculpture lines not extending mesad of setae S2; tergite VIII with complete posteromarginal comb of slender microtrichia; pleurotergites without discal setae. Sternites with a few discal setae, but these arise close to or even at posterior margin.
Male macroptera. Body yellow with distal antennal segments brown; tergite VIII posterior margin without comb; sternites III–VII each with slender transverse pore plate, sternal marginal and discal setae difficult to distinguish from each other.

Related species

The striate sculpture of the metanotum in T. setipennis is similar to that of T. rhabdotus from the Pacific, but the arrangement of the sternal discal setae in setipennis, close to or even at the posterior margin, is unique amongst Thrips species. There are 33 species of this genus known from Australia (Mound & Masumoto, 2005), out of a total of 296 species worldwide (ThripsWiki, 2020). Many of these species have the antennae clearly 7-segmented, whereas others have 8 segments. Some species have two complete rows of setae on the fore wing veins, whereas others have the setal row on the first vein more or less widely interrupted. Moreover, some species have sternal discal setae, whereas other species have only marginal setae on the sternites. Despite this variation, all members of Thrips genus have paired ctenidia on the tergites, and on tergite VIII these are postero-mesad to the spiracles, and they also lack ocellar setae pair I in front of the first ocellus. In contrast, Frankliniella species have ctenidia on tergite VIII antero-lateral to the spiracles, and a pair of setae is always present in front of the first ocellus.

Biological data

Feeding and breeding in the flowers of many subtropical plants, including Hibbertia [Dilleniaceae], Prostanthera [Lamiaceae], Livistona [Palmae]; the pollinator of Wilkeia [Monimiaceae] (Williams et al., 2001).

Distribution data

Widely distributed East of the Great Dividing Range in Australia, between Brisbane and Tasmania.

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Thrips setipennis (Bagnall)

Original name and synonyms

Physothrips setipennis Bagnall, 1916: 399
Physothrips chaetoneurus Karny, 1920: 37
Physothrips ignobilis Bagnall, 1926: 101
Physothrips myrsiniicola Bagnall, 1926: 103
Physothrips quadrisetae Girault, 1927: 1
Physothrips citrilacteus Girault, 1928: 1
Physothrips keatsi Girault, 1928: 3.

References

Mound LA & Masumoto M (2005) The genus Thrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand. Zootaxa 1020: 1–64. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2005f/zt01020p064.pdf

Williams G, Adams P & Mound LA (2001) Thrips (Thysanoptera) pollination in Australian subtropical rainforests, with particular reference to pollination of Wilkiea huegeliana (Monimiaceae). Journal of Natural History 35: 1–21.