Print Fact SheetAcanthothrips

Generic diagnosis

Moderately large, dark brown macropterous Phlaeothripinae, with armed fore femora. Head longer than wide; cheeks with prominent bristle-bearing warts; eyes larger dorsally than ventrally; maxillary stylets long, close together medially and retracted to eyes; postocular setae small, capitate, posterior to inner margin of eyes; mouth cone pointed, extending across prosternum. Antennae 8-segmented; segments III–VI constricted to apical neck; III and IV both with 3 stout sense cones. Pronotum with 5 pairs of capitate major setae, none of them very long; notopleural sutures complete; prosternal basantra absent; ferna large, meeting medially; mesopresternum complete; metathoracic sternopleural sutures long. Both sexes with fore tarsal tooth prominent, and fore femora with sub-apical tubercle on inner margin. Fore wings parallel sided, with duplicated cilia. Pelta reticulate, triangular; tergites II–VII each with 2 pairs of sigmoid wing-retaining setae; tergite IX setae S1 blunt at apex, shorter than tube; tube shorter than head. Male tergite IX setae S2 short and stout; sternite VIII with median transverse pore plate.

Relationships

This genus seems to be related to Hoplandrothrips and to Phlaeothrips (Okajima & Masumoto, 2024). These two genera are also widely distributed and with species that have similar biologies.

Biology

The species in this genus live on dead stems and branches of deciduous trees, presumably feeding on fungal hyphae or the breakdown products of fungal decay.

Distribution

Although albovittatus was described from Poland, and nodicornis is widespread across the Holarctic (Mound et al., 2018), the other 13 species in this genus are known only from North or South America.

Nomenclature

Acanthothrips Uzel, 1895: 259. Type species Phloeothrips nodicornis Reuter 1880, by monotypy.

There are 13 species listed in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2023).

Euro-Mediterranean species
Acanthothrips nodicornis (Reuter, 1880)
Acanthothrips albovittatus (Schille, 1911)

References

Mound LA, Collins DW, Hastings A (2018). Thysanoptera Britannica et Hibernica - Thrips of the British Isles. Lucidcentral.org, Identic Pty Ltd, Queensland, Australia. https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/british_thrips/index.html

Okajima S & Masumoto M (2024) The genus Hoplandrothrips and its relatives (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae)from Southeast Asia and Taiwan Zootaxa 5489 (1): 22–91.

Priesner H (1964) Ordnung Thysanoptera (Fransenflügler, Thripse). in Franz H, Bestimmungsbücher zur Bodenfauna Europas 2: 1–242. Akademie-Verlag.

ThripsWiki (2023). ThripsWiki - providing information on the World's thrips.