
Medium sized, macropterous or micropterous Phlaeothripinae. Head longer than wide, vertex without sculpture lines; postocular setae arising wide apart, weakly capitate, extending to posterior margin of eyes; genae convex, confluent with and slightly wider than eyes but narrowing to base; mouth cone short; maxillary stylets retracted to postocular setae, one fifth to one third of head width apart, neither maxillary bridge nor maxillary guides evident. Antennae 8-segmented; segments III and IV each with 2 sense-cones; segment VIII not constricted at base. Pronotum without sculpture; anteromarginal setae very small, anteroangulars pointed, remaining 3 pairs weakly capitate; notopleural sutures incomplete. Prosternal basantra present but not robustly sclerotised; ferna wide apart; mesopresternum a pair of lateral triangles; metathoracic sternopleural sutures not visible. Mesonotum and metanotum without sculpture medially. Fore tarsal tooth absent in both sexes. Fore wings parallel-sided, without duplicated cilia. Pelta triangular; tergites II‒VII each with two pairs of sigmoid wing-retaining setae, but anterior pair weak on each tergite; tergite IX setae pointed, longer than tube; tube shorter than head, anal setae longer than tube. Male tergite IX setae S2 short and stout; sternite VIII with no pore plate.
The single species in this genus has the general appearance and most of the character states of Xylaplothrips species. However, the maxillary bridge is not visible despite the stylets being widely separated, and as a result the original authors concluded it could not be a member of the Haplothripini.
Four of the known specimens were taken under the bark of Pinus, and the fifth specimen under the bark of Quercus. The species probably feeds on fungal hyphae, or it might be predatory on other small arthropods.
This species is known only from the original collection in southern France, comprising two female macropterae and three male micropterae.
Xyloplothrips Bournier & Bournier, 1986: 42. Type species Xyloplothrips pelikani Bournier & Bournier, 1986, by monotypy
There is only one species placed in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2023).
Euro-Mediterranean species
Xyloplothrips pelikani Bournier & Bournier, 1986
Bournier A & Bournier J-P (1986) Genre et espèce nouveaux du Languedoc (Thysanoptère-Phloeothripidae-Hoplothripini). Annales de la Société horticultural et Histoire naturelle Hérault 3: 42–45.