Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), a member of the Tospovirus genus within the Bunyaviridae, is an economically important plant pathogen with a worldwide distribution. TSWV is transmitted to plants via thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), which transmit the virus in a persistent propagative manner. The envelope glycoproteins, G(N) and G(C), are critical for the infection of thrips, but they are not...

Pandanothrips gen. n. is described, with three new species inhabiting Pandanus: P. ryukyuensis sp. n. from Japan, P. wangi sp. n. from Malaysia, and P. hallingi sp. n. from Australia. This new genus shows no relationship to Projectothrips Moulton, the only other Thripinae genus known to be associated with Pandanus. Pandanothrips is superficially similar to Danothrips Bhatti, a genus of leaf fee...

South East Asia pest thrips species, Thrips parvispinus (Karny), is a serious pest on a number of agricultural and horticultural crops in a number of plant families. Based on an integrated approach of morphology and DNA barcoding, invasion of this serious pest is reported first time from India on papaya plantations. Molecular data have corroborated with the morphological identification. Haploty...

Tospoviruses belong to the sole phytovirus genus, Tospovirus, in the family Bunyaviridae. Tospoviruses are known to be exclusively transmitted by thrips belonging to the family Thripidae and subfamily Thripinae. Of the known 1,710 species of Thripidae only 14 thrips species are currently reported to transmit tospoviruses. Thrips-transmitted tospoviruses cause severe yield losses to several econ...

With the discovery of Neohydatothrips variabilis (Beach) as a vector of Soybean vein necrosis virus (Family Bunyaviridae Genus Tospovirus), a relatively new pathogen of soybean, a multiyear study was initiated in Wisconsin (2013 and 2014) and Iowa (2014 and 2015) to determine the phenology and species composition of thrips in soybean fields. Yellow sticky card traps were used to sample thrips a...

Widespread and common across much of the drier areas of western Africa, the woody shrub Guiera senegalensis (Combretaceae) is the sole member of its genus. Similarly widespread is Vuilletia houardi, a thrips species that induces galls on this shrub, and is recorded from Mali, Senegal, Gambia and northern Nigeria (Pitkin & Mound 1973). Moreover, large numbers of galls, together with their includ...

Lomatothrips pinopsidis sp.n. (Insecta: Thysanoptera) is described as the second species of the genus. This species is widespread in Australia on Podocarpus and Callitris male cones, but the only other species in the genus is from New Zealand breeding in vegetative buds of Podocarpus. This is possibly an example of trans-Tasman vicariance, although the thrips fauna of New Zealand is shown to be...

A new species, Liothrips tractabilis, is described from northern Argentina. Feeding by this thrips causes severe damage to the leaves of Campuloclinium macrocephalum, a plant that has been introduced to South Africa where it is a serious weed of grasslands. A key is provided to the four species of the genus Liothrips recorded from Argentina.

Scolothrips ochoa sp. n. is described from Australia feeding on mites of the genus Raoiella (Tenuipalpidae). Apparently host-specific, this thrips is unusual within the Thripinae in lacking ocellar setae pairs I and II. Moreover, it differs from other Scolothrips species in lacking elongate pronotal midlateral setae, and by having antennal segments III–IV and V– VI broadly joined.

The genus Allothrips Hood, with one species A. bournieri Mound, is reported for the first time in Iran and the generic classification of Phlaeothripidae is discussed briefly. A key is provided to distinguish the four genera recorded in Iran of the spore-feeding thrips in the Idolothripinae.