Generic diagnosis

Female macropterous or micropterous. Head wider than long, not projecting in front of eyes; maxillary palps 3-segmented; eyes with no pigmented facets; ocellar setae I present, ocellar setae III arise between posterior ocelli; five pairs of prominent postocular setae in transverse row. Antennae 8-segmented, III and IV with forked sense cones, III-VI with microtrichia on both surfaces; segment I without paired dorso-apical setae. Mouth cone apex narrow slightly, maxillary palps 3-segmented. Pronotum wider than long, with few transverse sculpture lines; two pairs of long posteroangular setae, two pairs of posteromarginal setae; one pair of anteromarginal setae distinctly longer than discal setae. Mesonotum anterior campaniform sensilla close together. Metanotum reticulate, without campaniform sensilla, median setae at anterior margin. Macropterous fore wing first vein "with short gap", second vein with complete row of setae; clavus with 5 veinal setae. Mesosternum with spinula, metasternum without. Legs without claws, tarsi 2-segmented. Tergites I–VII extensively reticulate (in microptera) but reticulation weaker on posterior segments; II–VII without craspedum or ctenidia, median campaniform sensilla near middle; laterotergites without discal setae; tergite VIII with posteromarginal comb, without ctenidia or microtrichia anterior to spiracles. Sternites without discal setae; sternites III–VII with three pairs of posteromarginal setae, II with two pairs; sternite VII setae S2 arise in front of margin.
Male not known.

Relationship data

Thripidae sub-family Thripinae: this is a diverse group involving more than 230 genera, and relationships of Vulgatothrips remain obscure. It is known only from one macropterous female and two micropterae (one from Sichuan was studied and is illustrated here). The genus shares several characters with the Frankliniella genus group, including Parabaliothrips, but lacks ctenidia. It also shares character states with some Ctenothrips species, but the three type specimens of shennongjiaensis lack strong reticulate sculpture, and their appearance is very different probably due to being crushed.

Biological data

Collected by sweeping, no host association known.

Distribution data

Known only from three females: Hubei Province, holotype macroptera from Xingshan, one microptera from Shennongjia; Sichuan Province, one microptera from Wushan.

Nomenclatural data

Vulgatothrips Han, 1997: 543. Type species Vulgatothrips shennongjiaensis Han, 1997, by monotypy.

A single species, known only from China, is placed in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2018):

shennongjiaensis Han, 1997: 544 (568).

References

Han YF (1997) Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae, Thripidae, Phlaeothripidae. pp531–571 in Yang Xing-Ke [eds] Insects of the Three Gorge Reservoir Area of Yangtze River. Chongqing Press, Chongqing.