Generic diagnosis

Brown macropterous Phlaeothripinae with antennal segment VIII long and slender. Head 1.0 to 1.4 times as long as wide; posterior ocelli in contact with eye; compound eyes sometimes with one posterolateral facet enlarged; vertex with little sculpture; maxillary stylets position varying from low in head to retracted almost to postocular setae, about one-third of head width apart. Antennae 8-segmented; segment III with one sense cone, IV with 2 or 3 sense cones; VIII long, slender and narrowed to base. Pronotum broad, with little sculpture; notopleural sutures complete or incomplete; anteromarginal and anteroangular setae minute to small. Metanotum with longitudinally elongate reticulation but weak anteromedially. Fore tarsi without tooth in both sexes; fore wing broad with many duplicated cilia, 2 or 3 sub-basal setae present. Prosternal basantra absent; ferna widely separated; mesopresternum complete, or slender, or reduced to irregular fragments; metathoracic sternopleural sutures absent. Pelta recessed into anterior margin of tergite II, triangular or with lateral wings; tergites II–VIII each with 2 pairs of sigmoid wing-retaining setae placed rather laterally; tergite IX major setae long; tube about as long as head. Male sternite VIII without pore plate; tergite IX setae S2 shorter than setae S1.

Nomenclatural data

Litotetothrips Priesner, 1929: 449. Type species Litotetothrips cinnamomi Priesner, 1929, by monotypy [= rotundus (Moulton)]

There are 14 species listed in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2022). One species described from New Caledonia has been recorded in Australia, and three new species were described recently from eastern Australia.

Australian species
Litotetothrips caledonensis (Bournier, 1993: 361)
Litotetothrips gallicola Mound & Tree, 2021: 448
Litotetothrips symplocosae Mound & Tree, 2022: 292
Litotetothrips tareei Mound & Tree, 2021: 448

Relationship data

A key to 10 species of Litotetothrips was provided by Kudo (1994), but further species have been described subsequently. Species of this genus share with several southeast Asian genera the unusual character state of a long and slender eighth antennal segment (Mound & Tree, 2021).

Distribution data

Species of this genus are found widely across southeast Asia to southern Japan and eastern Australia.

Biological data

Members of this genus are leaf-feeding, with two species in Australia inducing leaf rolls, one on Elaeocarpus obovata [Elaeocarpaceae] and the other on Symplocos cochinchinensis [Symplocaceae].

References

Kudo I (1994) Further notes on the genus Litotetothrips (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae). Insecta matsumurana 50: 53–78.

Mound LA & Tree DJ (2021) Litotetothrips Priesner (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripinae); an Asian genus newly recorded from Australia with two new species and one new combination. Zootaxa, 5027 (3): 445–450.

Mound LA & Tree DJ (2022). Phlaeothripidae (Thysanoptera) diversity in Australia, with three new generic records and two new species. Zootaxa 5104 (2): 291-296.

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