Body and legs largely dark brown, abdominal segments II & III sharply white; antennal segment I brown, II brown in basal half, III yellow, IV shaded distally but yellow near base; fore wing banded, largely brown with a large transverse white band medially and a small pale spot sub-apically. Head about as wide as long, without long setae; distinct from prothorax; eyes prolonged ventrally. Maxillary palps 3-segmented. Antennae 9-segmented; III exceptionally long, more than 3.0 times as long as II; segments III & IV with linear sensory areas extending into the basal half of segment, these areas with characteristic scalloped margins. Pronotum smooth, with no long setae. Metanotum without sculpture medially; median setae small, close to posterior margin. Fore wing with two complete rows of widely spaced setae. Abdominal tergites with discal setae small; tergite X with pair of very small trichobothria. Sternites III–VII with two pairs of posteromarginal setae, and two pairs of discal setae laterally.
Male unknown.
Intraspecific variation
Not recorded.
Genus and similar species information
Franklinothrips is a pan-tropical genus which comprises 16 described species. Females have abdominal segments I & II more or less constricted and sometimes sharply pale, thus producing an ant-like body. Antennal segments III & IV are also exceptionally long and slender, segment III about 10.0 times as long as wide and with sinuous sensoria. F. fulgidus is distinctive in having the abdominal segment X dark. Mound & Reynaud (2005) provided a key to the world Franklinothrips species.
