Chirothrips falsus

Recognition data

Distinguishing features

Female fully winged. Body, antennae and legs brown, tarsi slightly paler, fore wings light brown. Head small, weakly prolonged in front of eyes; 2 pairs of ocellar setae present, pair III anterolateral to fore ocellus. Antennae 8-segmented; segment II weakly asymmetric with external margin broadly rounded; segments III–IV with sensorium simple and stout. Pronotum trapezoidal, 2 pairs of prominent posteroangular setae. Metanotum reticulate, sculpture forming arches around posterior midpoint; median setae not at anterior margin, smaller than lateral pair. Fore wings pointed; first vein distal half with 2 setae, second vein with 2 to 4 setae. Abdominal tergites medially with transverse sculpture lines; posteromarginal craspedum with weak lobes; ovipositor serrate. Posterior margin of sternites with tubercles.

Male effectively wingless, wing lobe minute; no ocelli; sternites III–VII with small circular pore plate.

Related and similar species

C. falsus and C. simplex are here considered the same species. In contrast, zur Strassen (1967) interpreted the variation as representing two species, and Nakahara & Foottit (2012) distinguish these two in a key to17 species of Chirothrips from North America.. Currently there are 46 species worldwide in the genus Chirothrips. The key to species provided by zur Strassen (1960) treated the genus in a broad sense, whereas Bhatti (1990) created six new genera for these species, including Arorathrips for several species from the New World that have the mesothoracic endofurca reduced.

Taxonomic data

Current valid name

Chirothrips falsus Priesner

Original name and synonyms

• Chirothrips falsus Priesner, 1925: 312
• Chirothrips simplex Hood, 1927: 128

Family placement

Thripidae, Thripinae

Biological data

Life history

Breeding and pupating within individual florets of Poaceae.

Host plants

Various Poaceae species with no clear specificity.

Tospoviruses vectored

None

Crop damage

None recorded.

Distribution data

Area of origin

South western USA

Distribution

California, Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Iowa, North Dakota, Illinois. The record from Europe by Bailey (1957) is not supported (zur Strassen, 2003).