Generic diagnosis

Medium sized, often bicoloured, macropterous or apterous Phlaeothripinae with prosternal basantra longer than wide. Head longer than wide, paired postocular setae present; maxillary stylets retracted to level of postocular setae, maxillary bridge present. Antennae 8-segmented; segment III with 1 or 2 sense cones, IV with 2 or 3 sense cones. Pronotal anteromarginal setae small, also sometimes midlateral setae; notopleural sutures complete. Prosternal basantra large, often much longer than wide; mesopresternum complete; metathoracic sternopleural sutures absent (long in lucasseni). Fore tarsal tooth present in both sexes; fore tibia commonly with tooth on inner margin and with subapical seta-bearing tubercle. Fore wings constricted medially, duplicated cilia present or absent. Pelta semicircular to bell-shaped; tergites II–VII each with 2 pairs of sigmoid wing-retaining setae; tergite IX setae S1 and S2 pointed or capitate; anal setae much longer than tube. Male tergite IX setae S2 short and stout; sternite VIII without pore plate.

Relationships

This genus is a member of the Haplothripini (Mound & Minaei, 2007). Amongst the genera of that Tribe it is distinguished by the presence of a sub-apical tubercle on the fore tibiae, and the prosternal basantra being longer than wide.

Biology

The species of this genus breed on various Poaceae, where they seem to be predatory on scale insects (Ritchie, 1974).

Distribution

The genus is widespread across the Old World tropics to Australia where there are several endemic species. Two of the species listed here are known from Egypt and one from Iran, and none of these is likely to occur north of the Mediterranean

Nomenclature

Podothrips Hood, 1913: 67. Type species Podothrips semiflavus Hood, 1913, by monotypy.

This genus comprises 31 species mainly from tropical countries (ThripsWiki, 2023)

Euro-Mediterranean species
Podothrips erami Minaei, 2015
Podothrips graminum Priesner, 1938
Podothrips semiflavus Hood, 1913

References

Minaei K (2015) Podothrips: first record from Iran with a new species (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae). Turkish Journal of Zoology 39(5): 958–961.

Mound LA & Minaei K (2007) Australian insects of the Haplothrips lineage (Thysanoptera – Phlaeothripinae). Journal of Natural History 41: 2919–2978.

Ritchie JM (1974) A revision of the grass-living genus Podothrips (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae). Journal of Entomology (B) 43, 261–282.

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