Aeolothrips modestus

Minaei, Kambiz, 2013, The genus Aeolothrips in Iran (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae) with one new species, Zootaxa 3630 (3), pp. 594-600 : 597

Aeolothrips modestus zur Strassen

Aeolothrips modestus was described from the Canary Islands (zur Strassen, 1965) and considered endemic to those islands (zur Strassen 1969; Berzosa 2000), but Fallahzadeh et al. (2011) reported the species from Iran. For the same reason given above for balati and citricinctus , this record is not confirmed here. However, the present author has studied a female identified as this species from Suaeda sp. in Isfahan, and this is the first authentic determination of the species away from the type locality. The species is distinguished from other Aeolothrips species from Iran with two separate transverse darks bands on the fore wings mainly by colour: body generally brown but antennal segments III–IV pale-yellow (paler at the base); all tarsi and distal part of all tibiae yellow. In other Aeolothrips species reported from Iran in which the fore wings have two distinct transverse bands, antennal segments III–IV are usually brown and the mid and hind tibia as well as tarsi are brown. No male has been described for this species.

Material studied. IRAN, Isfahan Province, Isfahan, 1 female, from flowers of Suaeda sp. (Chenopodiceae), 24.vii.2012 (F. Haftbaradaran).