extant species, plant pests
Thrips palmi
Nomenclatural details
Thrips palmi Karny, 1925: 10.
Thrips clarus Moulton, 1928: 294. Synonymised by Nakahara, 1994: 95.
Thrips leucadophilus Priesner, 1936: 91.
Thrips gossypicola Ramakrishna & Marghabandu, 1939: 41. Nomen nudum.
Chloethrips (Mictothrips) aureus Ananthakrishnan & Jagadish, 1967: 381. Synonymised by Bhatti, 1970: 381.
Thrips gracilis Ananthakrishnan & Jagadish, 1968: 361. Synonymised by Bhatti, 1970: 381.
Biology and distribution
Described from Sumatra, Indonesia (T. palmi), Sudan (T. leucadophilus), India (T. gossypicola, C. aureus, T. gracilis) and Taiwan (T. clarus).
Distribution: Originated from Southeast Asia T. palmi is common all over Asia. It locally occurs in northern Australia and it is widespread in many tropical countries, including the Caribbean region and southern Florida. In different European countries T. palmi is a quarantine-listed pest species that is frequently intercepted at ports of entry on plants and produce imported from the tropics. It is not present in Europe, though a small number of populations have been found and eradicated (in the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany).
In various tropical countries T. palmi is a major crop pest. It is an invasive pest species that has been widely transported around the tropics and sub-tropics by international trade in plants and plant products. T. palmi – also called “Melon Thrips” – is highly polyphagous with a particular prevalence on Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae in commercial production. It is feeding and breeding on leaves and in flowers of its host plants. Furthermore, it is a vector of Tospo Viruses (WSMV, GBNV).
Annotation: T. palmi was named originally after Dr Palm and should not be called “Palm Thrips”.
References
Karny H (1925) Die an Tabak auf Java und Sumatra angetroffenen Blasenfüßer. Bulletin van het deli Proefstation te Medan 23: 1–55.
Moulton D (1928) New Thysanoptera from Formosa. Transactions of the Natural History Society of Formosa 18:287-328.
Priesner H (1936) On some further new Thysanoptera from the Sudan. Bulletin de la Societe Royale entomologique d’Egypte 20: 83–104.
Ramakrishna TV & Margabandhu V (1939) Notes on Indian Thysanoptera with descriptions of new species. Indian Journal of Entomology 1: 35–48.
Ananthakrishnan TN & Jagadish A (1967) Studies on the genus Chloethrips Priesner from India. Zoologischer Anzeiger 178: 374–388.
Ananthakrishnan TN & Jagadish A (1968) Studies on the species of the genus Thrips from India – II. Entomologische Zeitschrift 15: 359–365.
Palmer JM (1992) Thrips (Thysanoptera) from Pakistan to the Pacific: a review. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology 61: 1–76.
Nakahara S (1994) The genus Thrips Linnaeus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) of the New World. Technical Bulletin. United States Department of Agriculture 1822: 1–183.
Mound LA & Masumoto M (2005) The genus Thrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand. Zootaxa 1020: 1–64.
Type information
Holotype ♀ (T. clarus): California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco.
Lectotype ♀ (T. palmi): Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt.
Syntypes (T. gracilis): uncertain depositary.
Syntypes (C. aureus): Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi.