
osborni Head
osborni Head & fore tibia
osborni Head & pronotum
osborni Pronotum
osborni Metanotum & pelta
osborni Prosternites
osborni Metathorax lateral seta
osborni Antenna
osborni Female
Light brown, usually macropterous Phlaeothripinae with one pair of long capitate setae ventrolaterally on metathorax. Head without (sometimes with) reticulate sculpture, slightly produced in front of eyes; genae weakly constricted behind rounded eyes; postocular setae long and capitate; maxillary stylets wide apart, retracted into head mid-way to (or almost to) postocular setae; mouth cone short and broadly rounded. Antennae 8-segmented, III with 3 (rarely 2) sense cones, IV with 4 (rarely 3) sense cones. Pronotum with 4 pairs of long, often capitate, major setae; anteromarginal pair minute; notopleural sutures complete. Mesonotal lateral setae small; metanotum without sculpture medially, median setae small and acute. Prosternal basantra well developed; ferna large and meeting medially; mesopresternum transverse; sternopleural sutures absent. Meso and metathorax ventrolaterally each with a pair of long, asymmetrical, capitate setae. Fore tarsal tooth absent. Fore wing not constricted medially; without duplicated cilia. Pelta usually small and D-shaped; tergites each with 2 pairs of weakly sigmoid wing-retaining setae; tergite IX of female with setae about as long as tube, S1 and S2 weakly capitate. Male sternite IX usually with large pore plate.
This genus is a member of a suite of leaf-litter Phlaeothripinae genera found primarily in South America (Mound, 1977).
Members of this genus are presumably fungus-feeding in leaf litter.
Species of the genus Tylothrips are mainly from the Neotropics, although osborni is widespread along the eastern areas of the USA. It has presumably been introduced to various countries in Europe in packing material around imported plants (Uzun Yigit et al., 2021), and has been found in Iran and in Australia (Mirab-balou et al., 2022; Mound & Tree, 2022).
Tylothrips Hood, 1937: 494. Type species Tylothrips concolor Hood, 1937, by monotypy.
There are 24 species listed in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2023).
Euro-Mediterranean species
Tylothrips osborni (Hinds, 1902)
Mirab-balou M, Minaei K & Ulitzka MR (2022) A first record of the fungus-feeding genus Tylothrips (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae) from Iran. Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 8 (2): 183–189.
Mound LA (1977) Species diversity and the systematics of some New World leaf-litter Thysanoptera (Phlaeothripinae; Glyptothripini). Systematic Entomology 2: 225–244.
Mound LA & Tree DJ (2022) Tubulifera Australiensis – Thysanoptera-Phlaeothripidae genera in Australia. Lucidcentral.org, Identic Pty Ltd, Queensland, Australia. <https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v4/thrips/tubulifera/>
Uzun Yiğit A, Demirözer O, Minaei K & Mound LA (2021) Disjunct distribution or recent introduction? The North American Tylothrips osborni in Turkey (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae). Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 7(4): 375–381.