Phlaeothripidae is a family of
thrips with hundreds of genera. They are the only extant family of the suborder Tubulifera, alongside the extinct family
Rohrthripidae and are themselves ordered into two subfamilies, the
Idolothripinae with 80 genera, and the
Phlaeothripinae with almost 400. Some 3,400 species are recognised in this family, and many are
fungivores living in the tropics.
[Moritz, G., D. Morris, and L. Mound. 2001. ThripsID: pest thrips of the world. ACIAR and CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.]
Thrips from this family are fairly common, and are generally larger than those in the suborder
Terebrantia (containing all other thrips). ''
Idolothrips marginatus'' can attain a body length of up to 14 mm. The group is distinguished by having the last abdominal segment modified into a tube-like structure – hence the suborder's name, which means "tube-bearers".
Selected species
Some of the better-known species are:
* ''
Aleurothrips fasciapennis'' (Franklin) - feeds on
whiteflies
* ''
Gynaikothrips ficorum'' (
Marchal) - Cuban laurel thrips
* ''
Haplothrips froggatti'' Hood - Black plague thrips
* ''
Haplothrips gowdeyi'' (Franklin) - Goldtipped tubular thrips
* ''
Haplothrips niger'' (Osborne) - Red clover thrips
* ''
Haplothrips victoriensis'' Bagnall - Tubular black thrips
* ''
Idolothrips spectrum'' Haliday - Giant thrips
* ''
Leptothrips mali'' Fitch - Black hunter, is used to control mites
* ''
Liothrips urichi'' Karny - Clidemia thrips
* ''
Liothrips vaneeckei'' Priesner - Lily thrips, damages the bulbs of lilies
* ''
Teuchothrips disjunctus'' (Hood) - Bottlebrush thrips
* ''
Hoplandrothrips'' - causes leaf rolling of ''
Coffea'' plants
References
External links
''Gynaikothrips ficorum'', Cuban laurel thripson the
UF /
IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
{{Authority control
Insect families