Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood, 1919: 90.

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

Family

Thripidae, Thripinae

Nomenclatural information

https://thrips.info/wiki/Scirtothrips_dorsalis

Diagnosis

Body yellow, with lateral areas of thorax slightly shaded, abdominal segments III–VIII with anterior ridge brown and a brown blotch medially; antennal segments I lighter than body, II concolourous with body, III–V shaded, lighter basally, VI–VIII brown; fore wings usually shaded. Head with three pairs of ocellar setae, pair III between posterior ocelli, setae close together; ocellar and postocular regions finely striate transversally. Antennae 8-segmented, III & IV with forked sense cones. Pronotum rectangular, transversally striate, with a pair of elongate posteromarginal setae. Metanotum with irregular to elongate reticulation posteromedially; campaniform sensilla absent; two pairs of elongate setae, median pair arising slightly behind anterior margin. Fore wings with first setal row widely interrupted, second row with two setae; posterior cilia straight. Abdominal tergites II–VIII with lateral thirds covered in closely spaced rows of fine microtrichia, posterior margin with fine comb; tergite VIII with the comb complete; median setae on tergites III–VI short and close together. Sternites with no discal setae, but covered with rows of microtrichia all over posterior half. Female fully winged.

Male smaller than female, anterior angles of tergite IX without a pair of robust curved processes (drepanae); posterior femora without a row of stout setae; sternites without pore plates.

Intraspecific variation

Metanotum may have sculpture weak or absent on posterior half; complete row of microtrichia on abdominal sternites may be restricted to posterior area (Dias-Pini et al. 2018).

Genus and similar species information 

This genus comprises more than 100 species, almost all of them from tropics or subtropics. Most of the members have pale body colour, pronotum transversally striate and lateral thirds of abdominal tergites covered with regular rows of minute microtrichia. Some species within this group show a wide range of variation, resulting sometimes in mistaken taxonomic decisions (Mound & Zur Strassen 2001). Scirtothrips dorsalis is similar to Scirtothrips aurantii in having sternites covered with microtrichia posteromedially, being differentiated by the straight cilia on fore wings (instead of wavy), and for males not having drepanae or a row of stout setae on posterior femora.

World distribution

Widely distributed across Asia, being also recorded on South Africa, the Caribbean region, United States (Florida) and, recently, on Brazil).

Distribution in Brazil

http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/fauna/faunadobrasil/197319 

Life history

Polyphagous species, being found in young leaves of a variety of plant species. In Brazil, it was recorded on Anacardium occidentale (Dias-Pini et al. 2018).

Economic importance

This species is a pest on several crops, highly polyphagous. It is recorded as a vector of three types of tospoviruses (Riley et al. 2011).

References suggested

Dias-Pini NS, Lima MGA, Lima EFB, Maciel GPS & Duarte PM (2018) Scirtothrips dorsalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae): a Newly Introduced Polyphagous Pest in Northeastern Brazil. Neotropical Entomology 47(5): 725–728.

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

Riley DG, Joseph SV, Srinivasan R & Diffie S (2011) Thrips Vectors of Tospoviruses. Journal of Integrated Pest Management 2(1): 1–10