Distinguishing features

Female fully winged. Body, antennae and legs brown, tarsi paler, fore wings light brown. Antennae 8-segmented; segment II asymmetric but without a terminal sensorium; sense cone simple on segment III but forked on IV. Head small, prolonged in front of eyes with long preocellar area; only 2 pairs of ocellar setae, pair III anterolateral to fore ocellus. Pronotum trapezoidal, with 2 pairs of prominent posteroangular setae. Metanotum weakly reticulate, median setae small and not arising at anterior margin; meso and metafurca with well-developed lateral flanges. Fore wing pointed; first vein distal half with 2 or 3 setae, second vein with 5 or 6 setae. Abdominal tergites medially with transverse sculpture lines, posteromarginal craspedum with small rounded or pointed lobes; ovipositor moderately developed, with rows of teeth. Posterior margin of sternites with row of small tubercles.
Male effectively wingless, wing lobe minute; no ocelli; antennal segment IV sensorium simple; sternites III–IV (sometimes also V–VII) with small circular pore plate.

Related species

Currently there are 42 species worldwide placed in the genus Chirothrips, and Nakahara & Foottit (2012) provided an account of the species from the Americas. The genus was treated in a much broader sense by zur Strassen (1960), whereas Bhatti (1990) created six new genera for several species. In particular, Arorathrips was erected for a group of New World species that have the mesothoracic endofurca reduced.

Biological data

Breeding and pupating within individual florets of various Poaceae species with no clear specificity.

Distribution data

Widespread in central and southern Europe, also California, Oregon, Washington.

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Chirothrips aculeatus Bagnall

Original name and synonyms

Chirothrips aculeatus Bagnall, 1927: 567
Chirothrips angusticornis Bagnall, 1932: 186
Chirothrips pedestris Karny, 1910: 55

References

Bhatti JS (1990) On some genera related to Chirothrips (Insecta: Terebrantia: Thripidae). Zoology (Journal of Pure and Applied Zoology) 2: 193–200.

Nakahara S & Foottit RG (2012) Review of Chirothrips and related genera (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) of the Americas, with one new genus and four new species. Zootaxa 3251: 1–29.

zur Strassen R (1960) Key to and catalogue of the known species of Chirothrips Haliday, 1836 (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Journal of the entomological Society of southern Africa 23: 144–176.

Thysanoptera Californica