Generic diagnosis

Medium sized, macropterous or apterous Idolothripinae with tube swollen. Head slightly longer than broad; genae straight without stout setae; postocular setae usually well developed; mouth-cone rounded; maxillary stylets long, close together medially. Antennae 8-segmented, III with 2 sense cones, IV with 2 or 4 sense cones; VIII broadly joined to VII. Prothoracic notopleural sutures complete or incomplete. Prosternal basantra present or absent; mesopresternum somewhat eroded; metathoracic sternopleural sutures present. Fore tarsal tooth usually present in both sexes. Fore wings with or without duplicated cilia. Pelta wide, usually eroded at posterior margin; abdominal tergite II eroded laterally; tergites II–VII each with one pair of wing-retaining setae in macropterae. Tube swollen or robust, anal setae short.

Nomenclatural data

Pygothrips Hood, 1915: 49. Type species Pygothrips rugicauda Hood, by monotypy.

There are 17 species listed in this genus ((ThripsWiki, 2022), with four recorded from Australia.

Australian species
Pygothrips pygus (Mound, 1974: 43)
Pygothrips rugicauda Hood, 1915: 50
Pygothrips shavianus (Bagnall, 1918: 216)
Pygothrips vicinus Okajima, 1990: 97

Relationship data

This genus is placed in the Idolothripinae, Pygothripini, Pygothripina, in view of the elongate maxillary stylets that are close together medially in the head.

Distribution data

Of the 17 species placed in this genus eight are from the warmer parts of the Americas, and the others are mainly from the Old World tropics. However, two species are from southern Australia, the type-species has been found widely across this continent, and one species that was described from Japan occurs in the far north of Australia.

Biological data

These are spore-feeding species found on dead branches and possibly invading the tunnels of Scolytid beetles.

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 & Dang L-H (2013) New Australian records of Asian or New Zealand Phlaeothripidae (Thysanoptera). Australian Entomologist 40 (3): 113–117.

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.

Okajima S (1990) The Old World species of Pygothrips (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae). Systematic Entomology 15: 87–99.

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