Generic diagnosis

Small or minute, laterally compressed, macropterous or micropterous Phlaeothripinae. Head longer than wide, projecting in front of eyes, vertex with little sculpture, postocular setae long; mouth cone short, maxillary stylets deeply retracted, one fifth to one third of head width apart. Antennae 8-segmented; segment III very short and broad, without sense-cones, IV with 2; segment VIII long and slender. Pronotum with little sculpture; with 4 pairs of long capitate major setae, anteromarginal and anteroangular setae close together; notopleural sutures absent. Prosternal basantra present; mesopresternum absent; metathoracic sternopleural sutures not developed. Fore tarsal tooth absent in both sexes. Fore wings weak, without duplicated cilia. Pelta sub-divided; tergites III‒VII each with one pair of wing-retaining setae. Male sternite VIII with no pore plate.

Nomenclatural data

Preeriella Hood, 1939: 612. Type species Chirothripoides minutus Watson 1937, by monotypy.

Although 20 species are listed in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2022), no species has yet been named from Australia.

Relationship data

This genus of minute Phlaeothripinae is related to a few similar taxa in the Hyidiothripine-lineage (Okajima, 1998). The genus Hyidiothrips is distinguished because antennal segment III is totally reduced and fused to IV. One female with this condition has been studied from a Queensland rainforest area, but that species lacks the spine on the inner margin of the fore femora that is considered diagnostic of Hyidiothrips species.

Distribution data

This genus is widespread around the tropics. Two undescribed species have been seen from rainforest areas in northern Queensland, and a third species has been observed at Brisbane.

Biological data

Most described species in this genus have been recorded from dead branches where it has been assumed that they are fungus-feeding. However, the only species that has been watched alive in Australia was feeding on colonies of mites on Lantana leaves in Brisbane.

References

Okajima S (1998) Minute leaf-litter thrips of the genus Preeriella (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae) from Asia. Species Diversity 3: 301–316.

Okajima S (2006) The Insects of Japan Volume 2 The suborder Tubulifera (Thysanoptera). Fukuoka: Touka Shobo Co Ltd pp. 1–720.

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