Generic diagnosis

Medium sized Idolothripinae with abdominal segment X stout, females macropterous, males apterous. Head wider than long, maxillary stylets wide apart, V-shaped and retracted almost to eyes; mouth-cone broadly rounded; terminal sensorium on maxillary palps unusually large but smaller than that of Allothrips. Antennae 7-segmented, morphological segments VII & VIII joined or fused; segment III with 2 sense cones, IV with 4 sense-cones. Prothoracic notopleural sutures complete or incomplete. Prosternal basantra present, ferna well developed, mesopresternum vestigial or absent; metathoracic sternopleural sutures present and eroded. Fore tarsal tooth present in both sexes. Fore wing with no duplicated cilia. Pelta broad, posterior margin usually eroded; tergites II–VII each with one pair of wing-retaining setae, but these are rather short and straight and sometimes weak and apparently absent; tergite IX of females with outer pair of secondary posteromarginal setae (SB2) variable between species, either small or stout. Tube robust, sides sometimes convex, anal setae short.

Nomenclatural data

Acallurothrips Bagnall, 1921: 269. Type species Acallurothrips macrurus Bagnall.

There are 25 species listed in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2022), of which four are known from Australia.

Australian species
Acallurothrips darumbali Mound & Tree, 2021: 170
Acallurothrips erubi Mound & Tree, 2021: 170
Acallurothrips nogutii Kurosawa, 1932: 234
Acallurothrips yagara Mound & Tree, 2021: 171

Relationship data

This genus is a member of the Idolothripinae, Pygothripini, Diceratothripina. It is particularly closely related to the genera Nesothrips and Neosmerinthothrips, differing mainly in the expanded form of the tenth abdominal segment.

Distribution data

Species of this genus are found widely across tropical countries, and the four species known from Australia are all from north of the Queensland - New South Wales border.

Biological data

These species all live on dead branches, and judging from the gut contents they all feed on fungal spores.

References

Mound LA & Tree DJ (2021) Tubuliferous Thysanoptera in Australia with an enlarged tenth abdominal segment (Phlaeothripidae, Idolothripinae), including six new species. Zootaxa, 4951 (1): 167–181.

ThripsWiki (2022) ThripsWiki - providing information on the World's thrips. Available from: http://thrips.info/wiki/ (Accessed 15.iii.2022)