Franklinothrips orizabensis Johansen, 1974 : 249

Mound, Laurence A. & Reynaud, Philippe, 2005, Franklinothrips; a pantropical Thysanoptera genus of ant­mimicking obligate predators (Aeolothripidae), Zootaxa 864, pp. 1-16 : 12

Franklinothrips orizabensis Johansen, 1974: 249

Described from Mexico, this species is common in southern California. It has been the subject of extensive study, on its ant­mimicry ( Johansen 1983), and on its predatory behaviour ( Hoddle, 2003a, b). It is a useful predator of a pest thrips on avocado trees in southern California ( Hoddle et al., 2000), and has been evaluated as a potential biocontrol agent ( Hoddle et al., 2001a, b, 2004). Moreover, as indicated in the Introduction above it has been marketed in Europe as a biocontrol agent against thrips in greenhouses. Judging from the records given by Johansen (1983), and from personal experience in Costa Rica, this bisexual species usually occurs on the leaves of shrubs and trees, in contrast to the closely related and essentially unisexual species, F. vespiformis . Females have the forewings uniformly dark near the apex without a subapical pale area ( Fig. 10 ), and the wing apex is considerably broader than that of F. vespiformis . The forewings of males are much paler ( Fig. 11 ).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 11. Franklinothrips species: (1) F. vespiformis female; (2) F. vespiformis larva; (3) F. a tla s, female holotype; (4) F. basseti, female holotype; (5) F. brunneicornis, female holotype; (6) F. lineatus, topotypic female; (7) F. lineatus, topotypic male; (8) F. fulgidus, female holotype; (9) F. m e g a l o p s, female from India; (10) F. o r i z a b e n s i s, female from California; (11) F. o r i z a b e n s i s, male from California.