Distinguishing features

Female fully winged. Body colour yellow, fore wing pale with brown cross-bands at base and medially; antennal segments V & VI with apex brown. Antennae 8-segmented, VII & VIII slender, III & IV with sense cone slender and forked. Head wider than long; 3 pairs of ocellar setae present, pair III between anterior margins of hind ocelli. Pronotum with 1 pair of major posteroangular setae. Metanotum weakly reticulate, median setae small and placed well behind anterior margin. Fore wing slender, first vein with 3 setae on distal half, second vein with 3 or 4 setae. Tergites without sculpture medially, posterior margins with complete craspedum, VIII with plastron-like sculptured area extending anteromesad. Sternites with large lobed craspedum, except medially on VII; median setae on VII arise in front of posterior margin; sternite III with small transverse pore plate.
Male similar to female; tergite IX with pair of very stout thorn-like setae and behind these some small tubercles; sternites III–VII with transverse pore plate.

Related species

Twenty species are currently listed in Chaetanaphothrips. Most of these are from southeastern Asia (Nonaka & Okajima, 1992), but three have become widely distributed around the world (Mound & Marullo, 1996). Two of these, C. leeuweni and C. signipennis, have only a single pair of pronotal posteroangular setae, whereas C. orchidii has two pairs of such setae, and C. signipennis is apparently unique in the genus in having a small transverse pore plate on sternite III of females.

Biological data

Apparently breeding on leaves, and recorded from orchids, bananas, and various greenhouse plants; sometimes causing markings on banana fruits and leaves.

Distribution data

Probably originally from south eastern Asia, but now widespread in tropical and subtropical countries, also in greenhouses in temperate areas; likely to be found in California.

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Chaetanaphothrips signipennis (Bagnall)

Original name and synonyms

Scirtothrips signipennis Bagnall, 1914: 22
Euthrips biguttaticorpus Girault, 1924: 1
Euthrips musae Tryon in Girault, 1925: 471
Physothrips citricorpus Girault, 1927: 1

References

Mound LA & Marullo R (1996) The Thrips of Central and South America: An Introduction. Memoirs on Entomology, International 6: 1–488.

Nonaka T & Okajima S (1992) Descriptions of seven new species of the genus Chaetanaphothrips Priesner (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) from East Asia. Japanese Journal of Entomology 60: 433–447.

Thysanoptera Californica