Print Fact SheetLiothrips

Generic diagnosis

Small to medium sized, dark, macropterous Phlaeothripinae with long dark setae. Head usually longer than wide, vertex transversely striate but reticulate on ocellar region; postocular setae long; mouth-cone long or short; maxillary stylets usually not retracted as far as postocular setae, and rarely close together. Antennae 8-segmented; segment III with one sense cone, IV with 3 (+1) sense cones; VIII slightly constricted at base. Pronotum transverse, with 5 pairs of long major setae; notopleural sutures complete. Prosternal basantra absent; ferna well developed; mesopresternum usually absent medially; metathoracic sternopleural sutures present but sometimes weak. Fore tarsal tooth absent in both sexes. Fore wings not constricted medially, with duplicated cilia. Pelta triangular; tergites II‒VII each with two pairs of sigmoid wing-retaining setae; tergite IX setae S1 and S2 usually long and pointed. Male tergite IX setae S2 shorter and stouter than S1; sternite VIII with pore plate.

Relationships

This is the primary genus of the Liothrips-lineage, an extensive group of leaf-feeding Phlaeothripinae that is found world-wide. This lineage also includes such species-rich genera as Gynaikothrips and Gigantothrips in tropical countries (Mound & Tree, 2021), as well as Teuchothrips a closely related genus from Australia (Mound et al., 2023).

Biology

All of the species are associated with the leaves of dicotyledenous plants, including one widespread species on the reduced leaves of lily bulbs. Some species are associated with leaf galls, and these possibly include gall inducers. However, some such species may be invaders of galls induced by other Phlaeothripinae, and such species may even be predators rather than phytophages.

Distribution

Liothrips species have been described from all over the world, but mainly from tropical areas (Okajima, 2006), including almost 30 species from southern China (Dang et al., 2024). There is considerable variation in position of the maxillary stylets amongst the species, from close together to more widely separated, also in head length. Despite this variation, there is no clear evidence that more than one evolutionary lineage exists among these species.

Nomenclature

Liothrips Uzel, 1895: 261. Type species Phloeothrips setinodis Reuter, 1880, by subsequent designation of Hood, 1918.

Brachythrips Reuter, 1899: 28. Type species Brachythrips flavicornis Reuter 1899, by monotypy. Synonymised by Mound, 2024.

With 247 species listed worldwide, this is one of the most species-rich genera of Thysanoptera (ThripsWiki, 2023), but most of the species listed below can be distinguished from each other using the key by Priesner (1964).  The single female from Finland that was described as flavicornis probably arrived in Europe on a ship from some other part of the world (Mound, 2024).

Euro-Mediterranean species
Liothrips amabilis Bagnall, 1927
Liothrips austriacus Karny, 1910
Liothrips flavicornis (Reuter, 1899)
Liothrips leucopus Titschack, 1958
Liothrips oleae (Costa, 1857)
Liothrips pragensis Uzel, 1895
Liothrips reuteri (Bagnall, 1913)
Liothrips setinodis (Reuter, 1880)
Liothrips vaneeckei Priesner, 1920

References

Dang LH, An YY, Mound LA & Qiao GX (2024) Leaf-feeding species of the genus Liothrips from China (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripinae). Zootaxa 5419 (1): 053–084.

Minaei K & Mound LA (2014) The Liothrips-lineage of thrips (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae) from Iran with the first record of micropterous morph of a Liothrips species. Zootaxa 3889 (1): 107–117.

Mound LA (2024) New generic synonyms amongst Thysanoptera Phlaeothripinae listed from Europe and the Mediterranean area. Zootaxa 5428 (1): 146-150.

Mound LA, Dang LH & Tree DJ (2023) Structural diversity among the leaf-feeding thrips of Australia in the genus Teuchothrips (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripinae) with 20 new species. Zootaxa, 5383 (4): 441-475.

Mound LA & Tree DJ (2021) Taxonomic problems with Gynaikothrips and related genera (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripinae): the ficorum/uzeli complex and taxa endemic to Australia. Zootaxa, 5023 (4): 537–554.

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

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. <http://thrips.info/wiki/Main_Page>