Franklinothrips vespiformis Crawford

Mound, Laurence A. & Reynaud, Philippe, 2005, Franklinothrips; a pantropical Thysanoptera genus of ant­mimicking obligate predators (Aeolothripidae), Zootaxa 864, pp. 1-16 : 14

Franklinothrips vespiformis Crawford DL, 1909: 109

Details of the biology of this species are given by Araraki and Okajima (1998), including the oviposition behaviour and the production of a silken pupation cocoon by the larvae. Although presumably native originally to Central America, females of this species have been found in many tropical countries. Specimens (BMNH, USNM) have been seen from: USA (Arizona, California, Texas, Florida), Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, St Vincent, Grenadines, Guadeloupe, Dominican Republic, Martinique, Barbados, Antigua, Trinidad, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Surinam, Venezuela, El Salvador, Brazil, Fiji, Japan, Thailand, New Caledonia, and Australia (Queensland). The Australian specimens were taken at Port Douglas in northern Queensland from lowgrowing weeds in an abandoned garden. This species ( Figs 16, 17 ) seems to prefer relatively low herbage, in contrast to the related species, F. orizabensis , that is usually associated with the leaves of trees. There are only two males labelled as F. vespiformis in the collections of USNM, Washington, and none in the BMNH, and a rearing programme involving this species at the Netherlands Plant Protection Department produced many females but only six males (pers comm. Bert Vierbergen, 2004). In contrast, males of F. tenuicornis , F. orizabensis and F. variegatus are commonly collected. The record of males of F. vespiformis in Brazil ( Moulton, 1932) requires confirmation as the species referred to may have been F. orizabensis .

Figures

FIGURES 12 – 20. Franklinothrips species: (12) F. strasseni, female holotype; (13) F. tenuicornis, female from Sta Catarina, Brazil; (14) F. tenuicornis, male from Sta Catarina, Brazil; (15) F. variegatus, female; (16) F. vespiformis, female from Sao Paulo, Brazil; (17) F. vespiformis, male from Sedona, Arizona, USA; (18) F. brunneicornis, female head; (19) F. s u z u k i i, female holotype; (20) F. brunneicornis, male head.