Body yellow, including legs; antenna largely yellow but VII & VIII brown, as well as the apical half of VI; fore wings pale. Head with three pairs of ocellar setae, pair III long, arising within ocellar triangle. Antennae 8-segmented, III & IV with forked sense cones; pedicel on III without modified margins. Pronotum not sculptured, with two pairs of long posteroangular setae; anteroangular and anteromarginal setae long, but less than 0.5 pronotum length. Mesothoracic spinula long, metathoracic spinula absent. Metanotum with transverse lines of reticulation anteriorly, reticulate posteromedially; campaniform sensilla present; two pairs of setae arising at anterior margin. Tarsi 2-segmented. 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 III–VII without discal setae, sternite II with 1 or 2 long discal setae medially. Both sexes fully winged.
Male with transverse pore plate on abdominal sternites III–VII and with toothed craspedum on posterior margin of sternite VII.
Intraspecific variation
Discal setae on abdominal sternite II sometimes absent.
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 williamsi is very similar in general appearance to other yellow grass-living Frankliniella species found in South America as frumenti and graminis. However, the head is not distinctively prolonged in front of the eyes and bears 1 or 2 long discal setae on sternite II. A key to Frankliniella species recorded from Brazil is provided by Cavalleri & Mound (2012).
World distribution
Widely distributed in the Americas, Asia and recorded from Australia and New Guinea.
