Generic diagnosis

Female macropterous. Head slender; maxillary palps 3-segmented; eyes without pigmented facets; ocellar setae I absent; setae II longer than setae III; four or five pairs of postocular setae. Antennae 7-segmented; segment I without paired dorso-apical setae, III and IV with sense-cones forked, III–VI with some microtrichia on both surfaces. Pronotum with two pairs of long posteroangular setae; three pairs of posteromarginal setae. Mesonotum with median pair of setae far from posterior margin. Metanotum with longitudinal striae; median pair of setae behind anterior margin. Fore wing first vein with long gap in setal row, seven or eight basal and three distal setae; second vein with many setae equally spaced; clavus with five veinal and one discal setae; posteromarginal fringe cilia wavy. Prosternal ferna entire; basantra membranous, without setae; prospinasternum broad and transverse. Mesosternum with sternopleural sutures complete; endofurca without spinula. Metasternal endofurca without spinula. Tarsi 2-segmented. Tergites I–VIII with craspeda of long pointed teeth but these usually weaker medially; tergites V–VIII with paired ctenidia, on VIII posteromesad of the spiracles; IX with MD setae well developed, two pairs campaniform sensilla present; X with median split complete. Sternites without discal setae; II–VII with craspeda of long pointed teeth, but not medially on VII; III–VII with three pairs of posteromarginal setae, II with two pairs; sternite VII with S1 setae in front of posterior margin; laterotergites without discal setae, with craspeda similar to those on tergites.
Male similar to female; sternites III–VII each with a pore plate.

Relationship data

Thripidae sub-family Thripinae: this is a diverse group involving more than 230 genera. Within this group, Fulmekiola is a member of the Thrips genus-group (Mound, 2002), and the only species included is particularly closely related to the Poaceae-specific thrips in the genus Stenchaetothrips. However, the tergites and sternites have distinctive posteromarginal craspeda with long pointed teeth.

Biological data

Breeding on the leaves of sugar cane (Saccharum), to which it is possibly host-specific.

Distribution data

Originally from southeast Asia where it is widespread, this thrips is introduced to the Caribbean (Mound & Marullo, 1996) and also to South Africa.

Nomenclatural data

Fulmekiola Karny, 1925: 18. Type species Fulmekiola interrupta Karny, 1925, by original designation; synonym of Thrips serrata Kobus.

Only one species is placed in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2018), and this is recorded widely in China:

serrata (Kobus, 1893: 16). (Thrips)

References

Mound LA & Marullo R (1996) The Thrips of Central and South America: An Introduction. Memoirs on Entomology, International 6: 1–488.

Mound LA (2002) The Thrips and Frankliniella genus groups: the phylogenetic significance of ctenidia. Pp. 379–386 in Marullo R & Mound LA [eds] Thrips and Tospoviruses: Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Thysanoptera. Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra.