Distinguishing features

Female fully winged. Body yellow with light brown markings, ocellar region faintly shaded; pronotal "blotch" light brown, with margins poorly defined; anterior margin of mesonotum, and lateral margins of metanotum light brown; tergites II–VII with brown markings anterolaterally and antecostal ridge dark, VIII–X yellow; fore wing pale with faintly shaded area in basal third, clavus shaded; antennal segments I–II pale, III pale medially but shaded at base and apex, base of IV pale; hind tibiae yellow, femora lightly shaded. Antennae 8-segmented, III & IV each with apex weakly constricted into neck and with short forked sense cone. Head with 3 pairs of ocellar setae, pair III within ocellar triangle; occipital apodeme not confluent with posterior margin of eyes; ocellar area irregularly reticulate; mouth cone long, extending between fore coxae. Pronotum transversely striate, blotch with transverse row of setae on anterior margin. Mesonotum and anterior part of metanotum striate; metasternal plate moderately emarginate. Fore wing second vein with no setae. Tergites VII–VIII with complete comb of long microtrichia on posterior margin, no comb medially on remaining tergites; tergite IX with two pairs of mid-dorsal setae; sternites III–VI with discal microtrichia medially, but not sternite VII.

Related species

This species is similar to N. burungae, but has the mouth cone long and extending between the fore coxae, also ocellar setae pair III are closer together, and the fore wing second vein bears no setae distally.

Biological data

Breeding on weedy species of Sida [Malvaceae], and described originally in association with damage to the leaves of cotton.

Distribution data

Not recorded from California, but described from Mexico, and recorded widely around the world from various Caribbean territories, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Northern Australia, New Caledonia, and Galapagos Is (Lima & Mound, 2016).

Family name

THRIPIDAE - SERICOTHRIPINAE

Species name

Neohydatothrips gracilipes (Hood)

Original name and synonyms

Sericothrips gracilipes Hood, 1924: 149

References

Lima EFB & Mound LA (2016b) Species-richness in Neotropical Sericothripinae (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Zootaxa 4162: 1–45.

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

Nakahara S (1988) Generic assignments of North American species currently assigned to the genus Sericothrips Haliday (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 90: 480–483.

Thysanoptera Californica