Neohydatothrips albus

Recognition data

Distinguishing features

Female fully winged. Body and forewing color "very pale, transparent white, devoid of any dark marking…". "Mouth cone very long.…extending…a considerable distance upon the mesosternum" (Jones, 1912).

Related and similar species

Currently, this species is not distinguished satisfactorily from N. catenatus, although according to Hood (1957) N. albus lacks shadings on the pronotum and abdomen. The three original specimens on which N. albus was based are in the USNM Collections at Beltsville, Maryland. The genus Neohydatothrips is found in many parts of the world and almost 100 species are listed. Identification keys are available to 13 species recorded from Central America (Mound & Marullo, 1996), and Stannard (1968) treats 11 species from Illinois, but many of the 35 species described from the USA north of Mexico (Nakahara, 1988) remain poorly defined.

Taxonomic data

Current valid name

Neohydatothrips albus (Jones)

Original name and synonyms

• Sericothrips albus Jones, 1912: 6

Family placement

Thripidae, Sericothripinae

Biological data

Life history

Not known

Host plants

Known only from three females collected from weeds and the flowers of Sambucus (Caprifoliaceae).

Tospoviruses vectored

None

Crop damage

None reported

Distribution data

Area of origin

Western USA

Distribution

California