Female

Female

Antenna

Head

Pronotum

Head & pronotum

Meso & metanotum

Tergites V–VI

Tergites VIII–IX

Distinguishing features

Both sexes fully winged. Body and legs yellow to white, distal antennal segments light brown, IV-VI yellow at base; fore wings pale. Antennae 7-segmented. Head transverse; ocellar setae III arise just within, or on, anterolateral margins of ocellar triangle close to first ocellus, ocellar region with weak transverse striae; postocular setae in straight row, subequal in size. Pronotum with transverse striae, 20–30 discal setae and 4–5 posteromarginal setae, external postero-angular seta shorter than inner seta. Metanotum irregularly reticulate medially, median setae well behind anterior margin, campaniform sensilla present. Fore wing first vein usually with 3 setae on distal half; clavus with terminal seta longer than subterminal seta. Abdominal tergite II with 3 lateral marginal setae; tergite VIII comb represented by a few teeth laterally. Sternite II with 1 or 2 discal setae, III–VII with 15–25 discal setae in an irregular transverse row; pleurotergites with no discal setae.
Male. Body yellow, sternites III–VII with 9–15 discal setae in an irregular transverse row posterior to small transverse pore plate.

Related species

This pale-bodied species is very similar in structure to Thrips imaginis, the common Plague Thrips of Australia, but in contrast to that species the females lack discal setae on the pleurotergites, and in Australia it occurs in the northern sub-tropical areas.

Biological data

Flower-living and apparently polyphagous.

Distribution data

Not recorded from California, but established on Hawaii (Mound et al., 2017), recorded from New Caledonia, and widespread in northern parts of Australia (Mound & Masumoto, 2005).

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Thrips safrus Mound & Masumoto

Original name and synonyms

Thrips safrus Mound & Masumoto, 2005: 45

References

Mound LA & Masumoto M (2005) The genus Thrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand. Zootaxa 1020: 1–64.

Mound LA, Matsunaga J, Bushe B, Hoddle MS & Wells A (2017) Adventive Thysanoptera Species on the Hawaiian Islands: New Records and Putative Host Associations. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 49: 17–28.