Generic diagnosis

Female macropterous. Head longer than wide, projecting in front of eyes; maxillary palps 3-segmented; eyes without pigmented facets; ocellar setae I present; III on anterior margins of triangle; five pairs of postocular setae. Antennae 8-segmented; segment I with paired dorso-apical setae; III and IV with forked sense cone; III–VI with few microtrichia on both surfaces. Pronotum with two pairs of posteroangular setae, posterior margin with three or four pairs of setae. Mesonotum with median pair of setae close to posterior margin; anterior campaniform sensilla present. Metanotum with irregular sculpture lines; median pair of setae close to anterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Fore wing first vein with long gap in setal row and two setae near apex; second vein with row of setae; clavus with five veinal and one discal setae; posteromarginal fringe cilia wavy. Prosternal ferna slender but complete; basantra membranous, without setae; prospinasternum slender and transverse. Mesosternum with sternopleural sutures incomplete; endofurca with spinula. Metasternal endofurca without spinula. Tarsi 2-segmented. Tergites with transverse reticulation, without ctenidia; II–VIII each with broad craspedum, campaniform sensilla posterior to setae S1; tergite IX with anterior campaniform sensilla, MD setae slender; X with split incomplete. Sternites II–VII with lobed craspedum, but craspedum absent medially on VII; sternites III–VII with three pairs of posteromarginal setae, II with two pairs. Male similar to female; sternites without pore plates.

Biological data

Apparently associated with the leaves of grasses.

Distribution data

This is an Old World genus, with species distributed between southern India and southern China.

Nomenclatural data

Sorghothrips Priesner, 1936: 88. Type species Thrips longistylus Trybom 1911, by monotypy.

Five species are now placed in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2020), with the following two known from China:

meishanensis Chen, 1977: 147.
sakagamii (Kudo, 1974: 111). (Plesiothrips)

Relationship data

Thripidae sub-family Thripinae: this is a diverse group involving more than 230 genera. Biologically, this genus seems to be the equivalent of the Holarctic genus Limothrips, but the presence of paired dorso-apical setae on the first antennal segment indicates that it is not related to that group.

References

Masumoto M (2010) Key to genera of the subfamily Thripinae (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) associated with Japanese plant quarantine. Research Bulletin of Plant Protection Station of Japan 46: 25–59.

Mound L, Lima E, O’Donnell C & Cavalleri A (2016) New World grass thrips of the genus Plesiothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Austral Entomology 55: 340–346.

ThripsWiki (2020). ThripsWiki - providing information on the World's thrips. <http://thrips.info/wiki/Main_Page>