Generic diagnosis

Female macropterous. Head sometimes prolonged anteriorly; maxillary palps 3-segmented; eyes large, without pigmented facets; ocellar setae I absent, setae III between hind ocelli, and relatively long; without pigmented facets; five pairs of postocular setae. Antennae 8-segmented, segment I with paired dorso-apical setae, III and IV with sense-cone forked, III–VI with microtrichia on both surfaces. Pronotum smooth medially, with two pairs of posteroangular setae. Mesonotum with median pair of setae near posterior margin or far from posterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Metanotum smooth to weakly sculptured medially; campaniform sensilla present or absent. Fore wings first vein with median long gap in setal row and two setae distally; clavus usually with four veinal and one discal setae; posterior fringe cilia wavy. Prosternal ferna weakly connected medially. Mesosternum without sternopleural sutures; endofurca with spinula; prospinasternum broad and transverse. Metasternal endofurca usually without spinula. Tarsi 2-segmented. Tergites without ctenidia or craspeda; tergite VIII without comb; IX with or without campaniform sensilla; X without median split. Sternites without craspeda, with or without discal setae; III–VII with three pairs of posteromarginal setae, II with two or three pairs.
Male similar to female but wings sometimes absent; tergite IX usually with pair of drepanae; sternites III–VIII with three to six, or numerous scattered, pore plates.

Biological data

Members of this genus are often associated with the leaves of various Cyperaceae and Poaceae, but there have been few studies on host specificity, and some species have been collected only from ferns.

Distribution data

This genus is primarily from southeast Asia, but with a few species widespread across the world to Hawaii and California.

Nomenclatural data

Trichromothrips Priesner, 1930: 9. Type species Trichromothrips bellus Priesner, 1930, by monotypy.

There are 38 species in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2020), of which sixteen are recorded from China (Li et al., 2019):

albus (Bhatti, 1978: 419). (Dorcadothrips)
antidesmae Li et al., 2019: 81.
assamensis Tyagi & Kumar, 2017: 415.
crispator (Karny, 1915: 35). (Physothrips)
elegans Masumoto & Okajima, 2005: 7.
falcus Bhatti, 1999: 3.
formosus Masumoto & Okajima, 2005: 11.
fragilis Masumoto & Okajima, 2005: 17.
guizhouensis Li et al., 2019: 83
indicus (Bhatti, 1978: 423). (Dorcadothrips)
moundi Li et al., 2019: 84.
priesneri (Bhatti, 1967: 20). (Apothrips)
taiwanus Masumoto & Okajima, 2005: 22.
trachelospermi Zhang & Tong, 1996: 253.
trifasciatus (Priesner, 1936: 323). (Taeniothrips)
xanthius (Williams, 1917: 59). (Physothrips)

Relationship data

Thripidae sub-family Thripinae: this is a diverse group involving more than 230 genera. Within this large group the Trichromothrips genus-group (Masumoto & Okajima, 2005) includes about 12 genera, mainly from southeast Asia, such as Laplothrips, Octothrips, Paithrips and Yoshinothrips. The species in these genera all share the presence on the first antennal segment of paired dorso-apical setae.

References

Bhatti JS (2000) Revision of Trichromothrips and related genera (Terebrantia: Thripidae). Oriental Insects 34: 1–65.

Li YJ, Li ZY & Zhang HR (2019) Trichromothrips genus-group (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) from China, with descriptions of three new species and ten new records. Zootaxa 4544 (1): 079–092.

Masumoto M & Okajima S (2005) Trichromothrips Priesner (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) of Japan and Taiwan, with descriptions of four new species and a review of the Trichromothrips genus group of genera. Zootaxa 1048: 1–27.

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