Generic diagnosis

Female micropterous. Head wider than long; maxillary palps 3-segmented; eyes with 5 pairs of pigmented facets; ocellar setae I present, pair III long; five pairs of postocular setae in single row. Antennae 8-segmented; segment I with paired dorso-apical setae; III and IV with short forked sense cone; III–VI with microtrichia on both surfaces. Pronotum transverse, with little sculpture except at posterior; two pairs of posteroangular setae, four pairs of posteromarginal setae. Mesonotum with median pair of setae near posterior margin; anterior campaniform sensilla present. Metanotum transversely reticulate, median setae at anterior margin; campaniform sensilla present on posterior third. Fore wing lobe shorter than thorax width; clavus with five marginal but no discal setae. Prosternal ferna not divided; basantra membranous, without setae; prospinasternum broad and transverse. Mesosternum with sternopleural sutures complete; endofurca with spinula. Metasternal endofurca without spinula. Tarsi 2-segmented. Tergites without ctenidia or craspeda, VIII posterior margin with row of small microtrichia with triangular bases; IX with anterior campaniforms sensilla present, MD setae stout; X with complete split. Sternites without discal setae, III–VII with three pairs of marginal setae, II with two pairs, VII with S1 in front of margin.
Male not known.

Relationship data

Thripidae sub-family Thripinae: this is a diverse group involving more than 230 genera. Relationships of the single species placed in Yaothrips are unclear, but it possibly represents a reduced, micropterous member of the Megalurothrips group.

Biological data

No information is available on the host associations of this species.

Distribution data

The single species in this genus is known only from Tibet.

Nomenclatural data

Yaothrips Mirab-Balou, Wei, Lu & Chen, 2011: 47. Type species Yaothrips shii Mirab-Balou, Wei, Lu & Chen, 2011, by monotypy; synonym of Taeniothrips pediculae Han.

Only one species is known in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2018), and this was described from southwestern China, Tibet.

pediculae (Han, 1988: 179). (Taeniothrips)

References

Mirab-Balou M, Wei S-J, Lu H & Chen X-X (2011) Yaothrips shii gen. et sp. n. from western China (Thripidae: Thripinae). Zootaxa 2900: 46–50.

Mirab-Balou M, Mound LA & Tong XL (2015) New combinations and a new generic synonym in the genus Taeniothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Zootaxa 3694 (3): 371–378.

ThripsWiki (2018). ThripsWiki - providing information on the World's thrips. <http://thrips.info/wiki/Main_Page>