Generic diagnosis

Female macropterous or micropterous. Head longer than wide, constricted behind eyes; maxillary palps 3-segmented; eyes without pigmented facets; ocellar setae I present or absent; four pairs of postocular setae. Antennae 8-segmented, segment I without paired dorso-apical setae, III and IV with sense-cones forked, III–VI with some microtrichia on both surfaces. Pronotum wider than long; two pairs of long posteroangular setae and two pairs of posteromarginal setae. Mesonotum reticulate, median pair of setae situated near middle; campaniform sensilla present anteromedially. Metanotum reticulate; median setal pair behind anterior margin; campaniform sensilla present. Fore wing first and second veins with setal rows complete; clavus with five veinal and one discal setae; posterior fringe cilia wavy. Prosternal ferna not divided; basantra membranous, without setae; prospinasternum broad and transverse. Mesosternum without sternopleural sutures; endofurca with or without spinula. Metasternal endofurca without spinula. Tarsi 2-segmented. Tergites reticulate, without ctenidia or craspeda; VIII with complete posteromarginal comb; IX with two pairs of campanifom sensilla, MD setae present; X with median split complete. Sternites reticulate, III–VII with three pairs of posteromarginal setae arising slightly in front of margin; II with two pairs, VII with S1 and S2 far from margin; laterotergites without discal setae.
Male similar to female; sternites III–VIII each with oblong pore plate.

Relationship data

Thripidae sub-family Thripinae: this is a diverse group involving more than 230 genera. The species in Ctenothrips share several character states with some of the species of Taeniothrips, including picipes and major, such as the form and chaetotaxy of the head, a long comb on tergite VIII, and a strongly convex posterior margin to sternite VII in females with setae S1 and S2 distant from this margin. However, the tergites of Ctenothrips species have strong reticulate sculpture, the setal rows are almost complete on both longitudinal veins of the fore wing, and the mesothoracic furca is absent or only weakly indicated.

Biological data

The North American species, bridwelli, breeds on the leaves of Arisaema [Araceae], and in China yangi was described as breeding on Bryophyllum [Crassulaceae] but also several other unrelated plant species (Xie et al., 2013). Host associations of the other species remain in doubt.

Distribution data

Although 10 species are listed in this genus from China, there has been no serious attempt to compare these and to re-assess their validity. The type species of the genus is from North America as is a second species of doubtful validity, and one species described from Europe appears to be Holarctic in distribution.

Nomenclatural data

Ctenothrips Franklin, 1907: 247. Type species Ctenothrips bridwelli Franklin, 1907, by monotypy.

This genus comprises 15 named species (ThripsWiki, 2018), of which ten are listed from China:

cornipennis Han, 1997: 539 (569).
dissimilis Hu & Feng, 2014: 263.
distinctus (Uzel, 1895: 121). (Physopus)
guizhouensis Xie, Zhang & Li, 2011: 66.
kwanzanensis Takahashi, 1937: 339.
leionotus Tong & Zhang, 1992: 48.
niger Kudo, 1977: 1.
taibaishanensis Feng, Zhang & Wang, 2003: 175.
transeolineae Chen, 1979: 184.
yangi Xie, Yuan, Li & Zhang, 2013: 611.

References

Tyagi K, Ghosh B & Kumar V (2014) The genus Ctenothrips from India (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) with description of one new species and one new record. Zootaxa 3821 (3): 273–279.

ThripsWiki (2018). ThripsWiki - providing information on the World's thrips. <http://thrips.info/wiki/Main_Page>