Strepterothrips Hood

Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2015, Fungus-feeding Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripinae of the Idiothrips genus-group in Australia, with nine new species, Zootaxa 4034 (2), pp. 325-341 : 332

Strepterothrips Hood

Strepterothrips Hood, 1934: 431 . Type species Strepterothrips conradi Hood , by monotypy.

An identification key was provided by Mound and Ward (1971) to the six species of this genus then known. Those species are recorded from the following areas: one from southern Brazil, one from Panama, one from territories around the Caribbean, one from East Africa, one from India but also known from Thailand and northern Australia, and one from southern Australia and New Zealand. Since that date three further species have been described: biconus zur Strassen from Cape Verde Islands was described as unique in the genus because antennal segment III bears two sense cones (instead of one); uenoi Okajima from Thailand and West Malaysia shares with orientalis the presence on antennal segment IV of three sense cones (instead of two as in other members of the genus); and apterus Okajima from Australia was described as having an exceptionally short third antennal segment. Described below from Australia are the following: one new species that shares an antennal sense cone formula with orientalis and uenoi, one new species that shares a sense cone formula with apterus , and three new species in which antennal segment III is unusually short and lacks sense cones. A sixth new species, found only on Norfolk Island, shares with tuberculatus the presence of a complete anterior margin to the mesoeusternum, in contrast to the other members of this genus.

In addition to the material indicated below, the following apterous females of Strepterothrips have been studied: 1 from Kenya identified as africanus; 1 from Panama identified as conradi ; 1 from Trinidad identified as floridanus; 3 from Singapore identified as uenoi. In each of these the mesoeusternum is longitudinally divided medially. In the uenoi specimens this division is weak and variable, and in the africanus female it is exceptionally broad.