Generic diagnosis

Small, usually apterous, Idolothripinae. Head scarcely longer than wide, stylets usually wide apart; eyes with about 12 irregularly arranged facets dorsally, and about 5 ventrally. Antennae with segments short and broad, VI–VIII variously fused, III with 0 sense cones (rarely 1 or 2), IV with 2 sense cones. Pronotum without sculpture, anteromarginal setae small; notopleural sutures complete or incomplete. Prosternal sclerites eroded, basantra absent or weakly present, mesopresternum almost absent, mesoeusternal anterior margin eroded; metathoracic sternopleural sutures present but broadly eroded. Meso and metanota with almost no sculpture lines. Fore tarsal tooth absent in female, present in male. Fore wing when present with no duplicated cilia. Pelta slender, extending across tergite II anterior margin; tergites III–VI of macroptera each with one pair of long sigmoid wing-retaining setae; tergite IX setae shorter than tube; tube shorter than head, anal setae short.

Nomenclatural data

Priesneriella Hood, 1927: 198. Type species Priesneriella citricauda Hood, by monotypy.

Eight species are recognised in this genus, mainly from the northern hemisphere (ThripsWiki, 2022).

Australian species
Priesneriella citricauda Hood, 1927: 199

Relationship data

Sharing various character states with Allothrips, but with more numerous eye-facets and fused terminal antennal segments, this genus is placed in the Idolothripinae, Pygothripini, Allothripina.

Distribution data

Three species in this genus are described from North America, four from Europe and one from New Zealand. The type species was described originally from California, but has been found in Western Australia at sites between Dampier and Kununurra as well as on Barrow island. A further undescribed species has been studied from Flinders Island, Tasmania, as well as South Australia (Keith) and southeastern New South Wales.

Biological data

These species are spore-feeders on dead branches and at the base of grasses.

References

Mound LA (2007) New Australian spore-feeding Thysanoptera (Phlaeothripidae: Idolothripinae). Zootaxa 1604: 53–68.

Mound LA & Palmer JM (1983) The generic and tribal classification of spore-feeding Thysanoptera (Phlaeothripidae: Idolothripinae). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology 46: 1–174.

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