Distinguishing features

Both sexes fully winged. Body, legs and wings pale, distal antennal segments brown. Antennae 8-segmented; segments III & IV with apex weakly constricted, sense cone forked. Head wider than long, three pairs of ocellar setae present, pair III arising between anterior margins of hind ocelli, longer than distance between compound eyes; postocular setae about as long as a hind ocellus. Pronotum with 2 pairs of long posteroangular setae, posterior margin with 2 pairs of setae. Metanotal sculpture weak, campaniform sensilla absent; median setae arise near anterior margin. Meso- and metafurca with spinula. Fore wing first vein with long gap in setal row, 2 setae near wing apex; second vein with about 12 setae. Abdominal tergites laterally with transverse lines of sculpture; tergite VIII posteromarginal comb with closely spaced long microtrichia. Sternites without discal setae.
Male smaller than female; antennal segment VI at least six times as long as segment V, with many long setae (illustrated here by a similar Australian species).

Related species

The genus Mycterothrips includes 29 species from many different parts of the world, including both tropical and temperate countries (Masumoto & Okajima, 2006), but with none from Central or South America. Three species are known from North America. M. aureus is known only from two females, collected in California, whereas M. betulae comes from northeastern USA.

Biological data

Breeding on leaves, with adults collected from a wide range of plants, but with no indication of any larval host-specificity (O'Neill, 1972).

Distribution data

Widespread in western USA, and recorded from California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, also Illinois.

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Mycterothrips albus (Moulton)

Original name and synonyms

Euthrips albus Moulton, 1911: 39
Euthrips costalis Jones, 1912: 13
Rhopalandrothrips corni Moulton, 1927: 34
Taeniothrips albipennis Moulton, 1929: 129
Taeniothrips albidus Stannard, 1968: 360.

References

Masumoto M & Okajima S (2006) A revision of and key to the world species of Mycterothrips Trybom (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) Zootaxa 1261: 1–90.

O'Neill K (1972) Mycterothrips Trybom, a review of the North American species. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 74 (3): 275–282.

Thysanoptera Californica