Thysanoptera – Tubulifera Europaea

Thysanoptera-Phlaeothripidae genera recorded from Europe

In Europe, thrips are commonly considered to be flower-living insects, with such thrips being members of the Thysanoptera suborder Terebrantia. However, the word “thrips” is derived from a Greek word for “woodworm”.

This name refers to the life-style of the many thrips species that live on dead branches and are members of the second suborder, the Tubulifera. Presented here is an information and identification system focussed on the genera of this second, and far less understood, of the two suborders.

The number of Tubuliferan genera recorded from Europe is scarcely 50% of the number of Terebrantia genera, and they comprise a single family, Phlaeothripidae, that is essentially tropical in distribution.

Modern identification keys are available to the genera and species of Terebrantia recorded from Europe, but for the Tubulifera of Europe, the two most recent taxonomic treatments date from the 1960’s. Moreover, both treatments remain based on conclusions from an earlier period before the development of modern concepts of thrips taxonomy and systematics.

For each genus included in this identification system a list is provided of species recorded from Europe and the Mediterranean area. This is the eighth similar system concerning Thysanoptera that has been issued from CSIRO, Canberra in recent years.