Alerothrips Bhatti

Dang, Li-Hong, Mound, Laurence A. & Qiao, Ge-Xia, 2014, Conspectus of the Phlaeothripinae genera from China and Southeast Asia (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae), Zootaxa 3807 (1), pp. 1-82 : 18-20

Alerothrips Bhatti *

Alerothrips Bhatti, 1995: 98 . Type species: Neurothrips indicus Ananthakrishnan , by monotypy.

Three species are included in this genus, two from Thailand, and one from India. The genus is similar to Neurothrips in having a slender tube and remarkably long anal setae, and these character states are also shared with urothripine taxa. Alerothrips is distinguished from Neurothrips by the presence of only two, instead of three, pairs of slightly flattened, simple to broad tergal wing-retaining setae ( Okajima 1997). The genus is listed here in the Amphibolothrips genus-group with the urothripines ( Table 1 ), although it is also similar to Azaleothrips in head shape, the shape and position of postocular setae, and the presence of a pore plate on male sternite VIII.

Diagnosis: Head as long as wide or a little longer, dorsal surface reticulate or with tubercles; cheeks strongly constricted basally; postocular setae short but expanded at apex, arising behind inner margin of eyes; stylets retracted to eyes, close together medially; antennae 8-segmented, segments VI–VIII widely fused, III with 2 or 3 sensoria, IV with 2, 3 or 4; pronotum with major setae short and expanded at apex, notopleural sutures reduced; basantra absent; sternopleural sutures present; fore tarsal tooth present in both sexes; fore wings with or without duplicated cilia; pelta hat-shaped; tergites II–VII with 2 pairs of simple to broad wing-retaining setae; tergite IX with S1 and S2 short; tube parallel-sided, slender, shorter than head, anal setae about 4 times as long as tube; male sternite VIII with pore plate.