Dendrothripoides venustus Faure, 1941

Thripinae, Thripidae, Terebrantia, Thysanoptera

Figures

Fig. 1: Antennal segments V-VIII, pedicel and antennal segment III with forked sense cone, 8-segmented antenna
Fig. 2: Head dorsal with ocellar triangle
Fig. 3: Pronotum
Fig. 4: Meso- and metanotum
Fig. 5: Fore wing and fore wing basal region
Fig. 6: Tergites V-VII (male)
Fig. 7: Sternites IV and V with glandular area (pore plates of a male)
Fig. 8: Tergites VIII-XI (female)
Fig. 9: Tergites VII-IX (male)

Dendrothripoides venustus breeds on leaves of different shrubs. Female macropterous or micropterous (with wing lobe shorter than thorax width); body color golden yellow, with brown shadings laterally; antennal segments IV & VI brown in apical half or more, segments VII & VIII brown; fore wings pale with median brown area about two-thirds in length. Antennae 8-segmented; segments III & IV with slender forked sense cone, VIII about twice the length of VII (Fig. 1). Head with cheeks bulging behind eyes but constricted to basal neck; dorsal surface reticulate; with 2 pairs of ocellar setae, pair I absent, pair III on anterior margins of ocellar triangle (Fig. 2). Pronotum with discal setal bases prominent; single posteroangular setae elongate and more than twice the length of discal setae (Fig. 3). Meso- and metafurca without spinula. Metanotum irregularly reticulate; median setae well behind anterior margin; campaniform sensilla present (Fig. 4). Mid and hind tarsi 2-segmented. Fore wing unusually slender; veinal setae minute (Fig. 5). Tergites II-VIII with numerous irregular arranged, stout and large microtrichia laterally (Fig. 6); VI & VII with median pair of small and straight setae; VIII with 2 pairs of stout setae medially pointing toward midline; IX & X with setae stout; X fully divided medially (Fig. 8). Sternites without sculpture; median pair of setae on VII arising at margin.
Male micropterous and similar to female; tergite IX with pair of stout thorn-like setae arising from a large median tubercle (Fig. 9), posterior to this a group of 6 small tubercles; antecostal ridge of sternites IV-VII with small transverse glandular area (Fig. 7).

The genus Dendrothripoides Bagnall, 1923
There are 5 known species included in this genus, one is from Southern Africa, three from Asia and the fifth, Dendrothripoides innoxius, is widespread around the world on Ipomoea leaves (Mound & Marullo 1996). The species in this genus have unique numerous stout tooth-like michrotrichia on the lateral thirds of the tergites, the fore wings are unusually slender, and the pronotum has a single pair of posteroangular setae.

Compared to Dendrothripoides innoxius, Dendrothripoides venustus has a single pair of elongate posteroangular pronotal setae which are more than twice the length of discal setae, antennal segment VIII about twice as long as VII, median dark area of fore wings broad and about two-thirds in length, and tergites VI & VII bear a median pair of small and straight setae. Dendrothripoides innoxius with no elongate posteroangular pronotal setae (the single posteroangular pronotal seta is short and as long as discal setae), antennal segment VIII is at most 1.5 times as long as VII, fore wings pale with brown markings sub-basally and more extensive medially (median dark band about one-fourth to one-third in length), and tergites VI & VII with 1 or 2 pairs of stout setae medially pointing toward midline.
Species of Dendrothripoides are similar to species of Scirtothrips, Kenyattathrips katarinae, Neohydatothrips samayunkur and Hydatothrips adolfifriderici in having the surface of lateral thirds of tergites bearing numerous microtrichia, but only in the genus Dendrothripoides these microtrichia are irregular, stout and teeth-like. In other species the microtrichia are fine and normally arranged in regular rows.

Life history
As with other thrips species the life cycle from egg to adult is dependent on temperature. The full cycle can take less than one week to over a month and adults may live for more than one month producing several generations in one year depending on seasonal weather (Lewis 1973).

Host plants
Shrubs like glorybower (Clerodendrum rehmanni and Carissa bispinosa).

Vector capacity
None identified, but possible mechanical distribution of phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria.

Damage and symptoms
-

Detection and control strategies
-

Additional notes
-

Biogeography

Southern Africa. South Africa (Limpopo: Modimolle; Gauteng: Pretoria), Zambia (on Zambesi River, at the Victoris Falls).

Faure JC (1941). Records and descriptions of South African Thysanoptera - II. Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa. 4: 100-110

Kudo I (1977). The genus Dendrothripoides Bagnall (Thysanoptera, Thripidae). Japanese Journal of Entomology (Konchū). 45 (4): 495-500

Lewis T (1973). Thrips: their biology, ecology and economic importance. Academic Press Inc., London Ltd., 349 pp

Moritz G (2006). Thripse. Pflanzensaftsaugende Insekten, Bd. 1, (1. Auflage). Westarp, Hohenwarsleben, 384 pp. ISBN-13: 978 3 89432 891 7

Mound LA & Marullo R (1996). The thrips of Central and South America: An introduction (Insecta: Thysanoptera). Memoirs on Entomology, International, Vol. 6. Associated Publishers, Gainsville, 487 pp

Nickle DA (2003). A checklist of commonly intercepted thrips (Thysanoptera) from Europe, the Mediterranean, and Africa at U.S. ports-of-entry (1983-1999). Part I. Key to genera. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 105 (1): 80-99

zur Strassen R (1960). Catalogue of the known species of South African Thysanoptera. Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa. 23 (2): 321-367