Scirtothrips dorsalis

Nomenclatural details

Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood, 1919: 90.
Heliothrips minutissimus Bagnall, 1919: 260.
Anaphothrips andreae Karny, 1925: 24.
Neophysopus fragariae Girault, 1927: 1. Synonymised by Mound & Palmer, 1981: 475.
Scirtothrips dorsalis var. padmae Ramakrishna, 1942: 169.

Biology and distribution

Described from Australia (N. fragariae), India (S. dorsalis, S. padmae, H. minutissimus) and Indonesia (A. andreae).

Distribution: Originated from Southeast Asia S. dorsalis is widespread between Pakistan, Japan and Australia. It was introduced to Israel and the Caribbean area and is probably spreading in the world by horticultural trade. Sirtothrips dorsalis is listed as a quarantine pest in several European countries. Interceptions have been recorded on imported plants in Great Britain and the Netherlands. In Portugal, Spain, and Italy (Sicily; Ulitzka, unpublished), it is known to occur but remains restricted in distribution.

Scirtothrips dorsalis – “Chili-Thrips” – is breeding on young leaves, but sometimes also on flowers. It is highly polyphagous, although local populations may show some specificity. Feeding damage has been reported from Lotus (Nelumbo) and mango from Taiwan, tea from Japan and Capsicum from Israel. For up-to-date information, see also the EPPO Global Database (SCITDO).

References

Hood JD (1919) On some new Thysanoptera from southern India. Insecutor Inscitiae menstruus 7: 90–103.

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

Karny H (1925) Die an Tabak auf Java und Sumatra angetroffenen Blasenfüsser. Bulletin van het deli Proefstation te Medan 23: 1–55.

Girault AA (1927) Some new wild animals from Queensland. Published privately Brisbane. pp. 1–3.

Ramakrishna TV (1942) Insects associated with the Lotus plant. Indian Journal of Entomology 4: 167–170.

Mound LA (1968) A review of R.S. Bagnall’s Thysanoptera collections. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology 11: 1–181.

Mound LA & Palmer JM (1981) Identification, distribution and host-plants of the pest species of Scirtothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Bulletin of entomological Research 71: 467–479.

Hoddle M & Mound LA (2004) The genus Scirtothrips in Australia (Insecta, Thysanoptera, Thripidae). Zootaxa 268: 1–40.

Type information

Holotype (S. dorsalis): National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.

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

Syntype (N. fragariae): Queensland Museum, Brisbane.

Holotype ♀ (A. andreae): Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt.