Aeolothrips hesperus
Recognition data
Distinguishing features
Both sexes fully winged. Body and legs uniformly brown; female with antennal segment III brownish yellow and brown in apical third, segments II and IV brown; forewings with posterior margin dark band extending from apex to (but not including) clavus, with no transverse dark band. Head with no long setae; pronotal posteromarginal setae not stouter than pronotal discal setae. Fore tarsus apically with stout recurved ventral hamus. Antennae 9-segmented, sensorium on segment III very short, almost oval, on IV about 0.3 as long as segment, V � IX forming a single unit with V about equal to VI � IX. Metanotum with bold equiangular reticulation medially. Marginal setae on sternites arising at or close to margin except laterally; sternite VII supernumerary paired setae arising well in front of margin. Male without paired tubercles on tergites IV � V; tergite IX with small, non-bifurcate clasper and without a stout curved seta laterally.
Related and similar species
A. hesperus is a member of a species-complex in which the forewing bears a longitudinal dark area along the posterior margin. The females of A. hesperus are similar to those of A. kuwanaii but with a considerably smaller sensorium on antennal segment III, and the male has smaller claspers than any other known species. Just over 90 species are placed currently in the genus Aeolothrips, of which more than 50 are from the Palaearctic Region (mainly Europe), and 28 from the Nearctic (mainly western USA). Only two species are recorded from the Neotropics; the one from Chile is probably the same as A. fasciatus , and one from Panama is probably not a member of this genus (Mound & Marullo, 1996).
Taxonomic data
Current valid name
Aeolothrips hesperus Bailey
Original name and synonyms
Aeolothrips hesperus Bailey, 1951: 58
Family placement
Aeolothripidae
Biological data
Life history
Presumably a facultative predator in flowers.
Host plants
Swept from various plants, with no information on specificity.
Tospoviruses vectored
None
Crop damage
None
Distribution data
Area of origin
Western USA
Distribution
California, Mexico, Texas.