Generic diagnosis

Female macropterous. Head long with large eyes; maxillary palps 3-segmented; eyes with few weakly pigmented facets; ocellar setae pair I absent, III long and arising within the triangle on the tangent between the anterior margins of the posterior ocelli; 5 pairs of postocular setae, pair III unusually long. Antennae 8-segmented, segment I with paired dorso-apical setae; III and IV with forked sense cone; III–VI with microtrichial rows on both surfaces. Pronotum without sculpture, narrowed at anterior angles; posterior margin with one pair of setae, 2 pairs of posteroangular setae. Mesonotum with anterior campaniform sensilla; median setae arise in front of margin. Metanotum reticulate, median setae distant from anterior margin and often asymmetric in position; campaniform sensilla absent. Fore wing first vein setal row discontinuous, second vein with several widely-spaced setae; clavus with 5 veinal and one discal setae. Prosternum without discal setae, ferna slender and divided, prosternal spinasternum broad. Mesosternum with spinula, metasternum without spinula. Mid and hind tarsi 2-segmented. Tergites II–VIII often with transverse reticulation medially, sometimes transversely striate laterally, without craspeda or ctenidia; median pair of setae in II–VIII almost as long as tergite, close together and arising near antecostal ridge; VIII without posteromarginal comb, IX with anterior campaniform sensilla; X without longitudinal split. Sternites without discal setae; II with 2 pairs of marginal setae, III–VII with 3 pairs all arising at margin.
Male tergite IX without stout discal setae; sternites III–VI or VII with large pore plate.

Relationship data

Thripidae sub-family Thripinae: this is a diverse group involving more than 230 genera. This is a member of an assemblage of 40 genera in which the species lack long setae on the pronotum (Masumoto & Okajima, 2017), but Rubiothrips is unusual within this group in having the median setae on the tergites long and close together.

Biological data

Species in this genus are associated particularly with plants of the genus Galium [Rubiaceae], but one species in southern Europe is found on grape vines, Vitis vinifera [Vitaceae].

Distribution data

Seven species of Rubiothrips are known from Europe, two others only from Iran, and a tenth species from Japan. However, a few damaged specimens of an unidentified species have been studied from Ningxia Province, China.

Nomenclatural data

Rubiothrips Schliephake, 1975: 11. Type species Anaphothrips ferruginea Uzel 1895, by original designation.

Ten species are listed in this genus (ThripsWiki 2018), all from the Palaearctic; a single unidentified species has been seen from China.

References

Masumoto M & Okajima S (2017) Anaphothrips genus-group: key to world genera, with two new species and three new records from Japan (Thysanoptera, Thripidae). Zootaxa 4272 (2): 201–220.

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