Dactuliothrips spinosusDactuliothrips spinosusBoth sexes fully winged. Body, legs and antennae brown, tarsi and antennal segment III yellow; fore wings weakly shaded. Antennae 9-segmented, segment IX longer than VIII; segments III & IV each with two oval sensoria. Head relatively long with 2 pairs of long postocular setae. Pronotum with many prominent setae, about 5 pairs on anterior margin and 7 pairs on posterior margin. Mesonotum without microtrichia. Metanotum with only one pair of setae, reticulation almost arcuate around anterior margin and without microtrichia. Fore femur with 2–5 short broad setae on inner margin. Fore tarsal hamus weakly recurved. Fore wing broad with apex rounded. Abdominal tergites with transverse lines of sculpture. Sternites IV–VI with three pairs of marginal setae and 5–6 discal setae medially but not laterally, with very few microtrichia; sternite VII with discal setae laterally and 2 pairs of supernumerary setae sub-medially.
Male abdominal tergite I with paired longitudinal ridges not reaching anterior margin, sternites without discal setae.
This species is closely similar to ephedra, but that was distinguished as having the pronotum with more setae and no microtrichia. Currently there are nine species described in the genus Dactuliothrips; five are from California and four from Argentina.
Possibly associated with Mormon Tea, Ephedra trifurca [Ephedraceae], and presumably breeding in flowers.
Recorded from California, Oregon, Utah.
AEOLOTHRIPIDAE
Dactuliothrips spinosus Moulton
Dactuliothrips spinosus Moulton, 1931: 173
Pereyra V & de Borbon CM (2013) The American genus Dactuliothrips (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae) with three new species. Zootaxa 3734 (1): 001–014.
