The first cycad-associated thrips in the family Phlaeothripidae, Stomothrips cycasi, gen. et sp. nov. (Thysanoptera)

Abstract

A new genus and species of phlaeothripine Thysanoptera, Stomothrips cycasi, is described from Cycas calcicola in the Northern Territory, Australia. This cycad has a restricted distribution, and at the collecting site the fronds were turning brown, apparently due to a fungal infection. The thrips, which have a remarkably long mouth-cone, probably feed on the fungus rather than the cycad tissue.