Generic diagnosis

Female macropterous. Head prolonged anteriorly, with many transverse striae; maxillary palps 3-segmented; eyes large, without pigmented facets; ocellar setae I absent, III within ocellar triangle; four to five pairs of postocular setae. Antennae 8-segmented, segment I with paired dorso- apical setae, III–IV with long apical neck and sense-cones forked, III–VI with some microtrichial rows on both surfaces. Pronotum with many transverse striae; five pairs of posteromarginal setae but no long posteroangular setae. Mesonotum sculptured as pronotum; median pair of setae far from posterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Metanotum with anastomosing striae; median pair of setae behind anterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Fore wing first vein with long gap in setal row and two setae distally; clavus usually with four or five veinal and one discal setae; second vein with many equally spaced setae; posterior fringe hairs wavy. Prosternal ferna weakly connected medially; basantra membranous, without setae; prospinasternum broad and transverse. Mesosternum with very weak sternopleural sutures; endofurca with spinula. Metasternal endofurca with spinula. Tarsi 2-segmented. Tergites weakly divided from laterotergites, without ctenidia or craspeda; I–VIII setae S1 close together, with transverse striae except submedian areas; tergite VIII without marginal comb; IX with only posterior pair of campaniform sensilla; X without median split. Sternites without discal setae or craspeda; III–VII with three pairs of posteromarginal setae, II with two pairs, these setae in front of posterior margin.
Male similar to female; sternites III–VII each with or without numerous small pore plates.

Biological data

Feeding and breeding on the fronds of the common and widespread Lygodium ferns.

Distribution data

This genus is distributed across southeast Asia to New Guinea

Nomenclatural data

Octothrips Moulton, 1940: 243. Type species Octothrips suspensus Moulton, 1940, by monotypy.

Three species are recognised in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2020), of which one is recorded from China:

bhattii (Wilson, 1972: 52). (Apollothrips)

Relationship data

Thripidae sub-family Thripinae: this is a diverse group involving more than 230 genera. This genus is considered a member of the Trichromothrips genus-group (Masumoto & Okajima, 2005).

References

Bhatti JS (2003) Species of Octothrips Moulton 1940 (Terebrantia: Thripidae) living on ferns in south and southeast Asia, with Apollothrips Wilson 1972 as new synonym. Thysanoptera 2003: 15–24.

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>