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, 6 to 8-segmented with 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.

Relationships

This genus is related to Allothrips in the subtribe Allothripina of the Pygothripini (Phlaeothripidae, Idolothripinae), and comprises a series of species in which various sclerites are weakly developed or fused.

Biology

This genus comprises spore-feeding species that are found on dead branches and in leaf litter.

Distribution

There are four non-European species, three are from southern USA and the fourth from New Zealand. Among the four European species one is known only from Ukraine, with the others from the Mediterranean area.

Nomenclature

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

Eight described species are recognised in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2023).

Euro-Mediterranean species
Priesneriella clavicornis (Knechtel, 1936)
Priesneriella luctator zur Strassen, 1966
Priesneriella mavromoustakisi (Crawford JC, 1948)
Priesneriella tubversicolor (Dyadechko, 1961)

References

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

zur Strassen R (1966) Neue Fransenfluglerarten aus der Unterordnung Tubulifera von den Kanarischen Inseln (Ins., Thysanoptera). Commentationes biologicae Societas Scientiarum Fennica 29 (3): 3-34.