Frankliniella australis Morgan, 1925: 139.

Original reference: Morgan AC (1925) Six new species of Frankliniella and a key to the American species. Canadian Entomologist 57: 138–147.

Family

Thripidae, Thripinae

Nomenclatural information

http://thrips.info/wiki/Frankliniella_australis

Diagnosis

Body dark brown; tarsi and fore tibiae yellow, mid and hind tibiae uniformly brown; antennal segments I–II & VI–VIII brown; III bright yellow, IV & V yellowish on basal half and basal third, respectively; fore wing uniformly shaded, distinctively paler in basal fourth. Head with three pairs of ocellar setae, pair III long and arising within ocellar triangle, on the tangent between anterior margins of posterior ocelli. Antennae 8-segmented, III & IV with forked sense cones; III with simple pedicel; VIII unusually long, about 1.8 times longer than VII. Pronotum not sculptured and with two pairs of very long posteroangular setae; posteromarginal setae II unusually long, more than three times longer than pair I; anteroangular and anteromarginal setae long, but less than 0.5 pronotum length. Mesothoracic spinula long, metathoracic spinula absent.Metanotum with transverse lines of sculpture anteriorly, reticulate posteromedially; campaniform sensilla present; two pairs of setae arising at anterior margin. Fore wing with first and second rows of setae complete and closely spaced. Abdominal tergites V–VIII with ctenidia laterally, ctenidia on VIII anterolateral to spiracle; VIII with a complete posteromarginal comb of microtrichia. Sternites without discal setae, with three pairs of long posteromarginal setae; female sternite III usually with a pair of small pore plates. Both sexes fully winged.

Male with transverse pore plates on abdominal sternites III–VII.

Intraspecific variation

Not recorded.

Genus and similar species information

Frankliniella is one of the largest genera amongst Thysanoptera, comprising more than 160 described species. About 90% of the species are from the Neotropics and their taxonomy is usually complex. Almost all members have 8-segmented antennae, three pairs of ocellar setae and fore wing with both rows of setae complete. About 40 species are recorded from Brazil, and almost half of these were described from this country. Frankliniella australis can be distinguished from the other Frankliniella species by the unusually long antennal segment VIII, the pore plate on female sternite III and the uniformly brown mid and hind tibiae. A key to Frankliniella species recorded from Brazil is provided by Cavalleri & Mound (2012).

World distribution

Recorded from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Chile.

Distribution in Brazil

http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/fauna/faunadobrasil/60576 

Life history

Breeding on flowers, adults are frequently collected in many Asteraceae and Fabaceae plants in Argentina.

Economic importance

Not recorded.

References suggested

Cavalleri A & Mound LA (2012) Toward the identification of Frankliniella species in Brazil (Thysanoptera, Thripidae). Zootaxa 3270: 1–30.

De Borbón C (2013) Especies del género Frankliniella (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) registradas en la Argentina, una actualización. Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias 45(1): 259–284.

Mound LA & Marullo R (1996) The Thrips of Central and South America: An Introduction. Memoirs on Entomology, International 6: 1–488.