Generic diagnosis

Small macropterous or apterous Idolothripinae. Head a little longer than wide; eyes small, directed forwards and smaller ventrally than dorsally; genae converging to posterior with no stout setae; maxillary stylets retracted to postocular setae, about one-fifth of head width apart medially. Antennae 7- or 8-segmented, III with 2 sense cones, IV with 4 sense cones. Pronotum without sculpture, notopleural sutures complete. Prosternal basantra present but weak; mesopresternum and mesoeusternal anterior margin eroded; metathoracic sternopleural sutures present and broadly eroded. Metanotum with little or no sculpture. Fore tarsal tooth present in male, absent in female. Fore wing with about 12 duplicated cilia. Pelta extending widely across anterior margin of tergite II; tergites III–VI of macropterae each with one pair of large sigmoid wing-retaining setae; tergite IX setae S1 and S2 long in both sexes, but shorter than tube; tube shorter than head.

Nomenclatural data

Priesneriana Ananthakrishnan, 1956: 138. Type species Gnophothrips kabandha Ramakrishna, by monotypy.

This is a poorly diagnosed genus in which three species are listed, including the type-species from India (ThripsWiki, 2022).

Australian species
Priesneriana laticeps (Hood, 1918: 142)
Priesneriana uptoni (Mound, 1974: 44)

Relationship data

Placed in the Idolothripinae, Pygothripini, Pygothripina, the relationships of this genus, particularly to Cryptothrips, are equivocal. The type species from India has a fore tarsal tooth in both sexes, but the two Australian species have such a tooth only in the males.

Distribution data

One species was described from northern Queensland, another is common on Norfolk Island where it is probably endemic, and the type species is from India.

Biological data

The species of this genus are spore-feeders on dead branches and in leaf litter, with large populations of uptoni found in the leaf-litter of Araucaria heterophylla on Norfolk Island.

References

Mound LA (1974) Spore-feeding Thrips (Phlaeothripidae) from Leaf Litter and Dead Wood in Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology 27: 1–106.

Mound LA & Wells A (2015) Endemics and adventives: Thysanoptera (Insecta) Biodiversity of Norfolk, a tiny Pacific Island. Zootaxa 3964 (2): 183–210.

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