Gynaikothrips ficorum
Recognition data
Distinguishing features
Both sexes fully winged. Body brown, tarsi and apices of tibiae yellow, also antennal segments III � VII largely yellow, VIII light brown; forewings pale. Head longer than wide, slightly constricted behind eyes; postocular setae with apices bluntly pointed, scarcely extending to posterior margin of eye; maxillary stylets retracted almost to postocular setae, about one third of head width apart. Antennae 8-segmented; segment III with one sensorium, IV with three sensoria. Pronotum with major setae variable, anteromarginals minute, anteroangulars commonly well developed, midlaterals and posteroangulars usually much shorter than epimerals; epimeral sutures often not complete. Fore tarsus with small or minute tooth. Metanotum longitudinally reticulate. Forewing parallel sided, with about 15 duplicated cilia. Pelta broadly triangular; tergites II � VII with two pairs of sigmoid wing-retaining setae; tergite IX setae S1 about 0.8 as long as tube. Male smaller, no fore tarsal tooth; tergite IX setae S2 short and stout.
Related and similar species
Almost 40 species are listed in the genus Gynaikothrips, mainly from Southeast Asia. G. uzeli Zimmerman is particularly similar to G. ficorum, but has the pronotal posteroangular setae long as well as the epimeral setae. G. uzeli has been reported from Texas (Boyd & Held, 2006), and is likely to occur in California. Populations from Ficus galls in the Asian tropics sometimes show considerable variation in the lengths of the pronotal setae, such that distinction between species remains uncertain.
Taxonomic data
Current valid name
Gynaikothrips ficorum (Marchal)
Original name and synonyms
Phloeothrips ficorum Marchal, 1908: 252
Leptothrips flavicornis Bagnall, 1909: 529
Liothrips bakeri Crawford DL, 1910: 161
Leptothrips reticulatus Karny, 1912: 22
Gynaikothrips flavus Ishida, 1931: 40
Haplothrips blesai Plata, 1973: 165
Family placement
Phlaeothripidae, Phlaeothripinae
Common names
Cuban laurel thrips
Biological data
Life history
Breeding within rolled-leaf galls.
Host plants
Apparently specific to Ficus microcarpa (Moraceae), and published records from Ficus benjamina require confirmation.
Tospoviruses vectored
None
Crop damage
Inducing leaf-roll and leaf-fold galls on Ficus microcarpa; sometimes considered a public nuisance when in large populations (Mound et al., 1996).
Distribution data
Area of origin
Southeast Asia
Distribution
Widespread around the world, wherever its host plant is cultivated.
