Hercinothrips bicinctus

Nomenclatural details

Heliothrips bicinctus Bagnall, 1919: 258.
Heliothrips bifasciipennis Girault, 1926: 1. Synonymised by Mound, 1970: 54.

Biology and distribution

Described from Belgium (H. bicinctus) and Australia (H. bifasciipennis).

Distribution: H. bicinctus was reported from Tanzania (Bagnall 1919) and most likely it originates from tropical Africa. Today it has been introduced in many countries of tropical and subtropical regions; in temperate zones it has been reported from glasshouses. H. bicinctus is polyphagous and is living on the leaves of a wide range of plants. Especially it is found on Amaryllidaeceae and frequently in banana cultures (‘banana silvering thrips’).

References

Bagnall RS (1919) Brief descriptions of new Thysanoptera X. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (9)4: 253–277.

Girault AA (1926) Characteristics of new Australian insects [Refused Publication on Pretext]. Published privately, Brisbane 2 pp.

Mound LA (1970) Studies on heliothripine Thysanoptera. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London 39: 41–56.

Hoddle HS, Mound LA & Paris D (2012) Thrips of California 2012. LINK

Mound LA, Tree DC & Paris D. (2012) Ozthrips – Thysanoptera in Australia. LINK

Martin NA (2017) Banana silvering thrips – Hercinothrips bicinctus. LINK

Type information

Lectotype ♀ (H. bicinctus): The Natural History Museum, London.