List of Thrips ( Thysanoptera ) recorded from Sri Lanka

T h i s paper Presents l i s t of the thrips (Insecta:Thysanoptera) of Sr i Lanka which includes the species recorded in the country, from 1859. Thrips documented locally come under 03 families; Aeolothripidae, Thripidae, Phlaeothripidae, 46 genera and 78 species. A brief description of the families and family groups are included. The distribution and host plants of the thrip species, where available are also indicated. Names of 15 recorded species listed are uncertain as they are known only from their original description and have not been recorded since.


INTRODUCTION
The insect order Thysanoptera is an important group of plant pests 1 causing scarring and silvering of leaves, petals and fruits, premature flower-fall, pollen depletion, leaf shedding, and also leaf deformity and leaf galls, specifically, the thrips are important vectors of tospoviruses that cause serious crop losses around the world 2 " 4 .Some thrips species are predatory, and a few species have been used in the biological control of mites, scale insects and pest thrips 5 .A few phytophagous species have also been used in the biological control of weeds 1 .Thrips are increasingly being recognized as plant pollinators 6 in plants as diverse as oil palm 7 and rainforest trees 8 .
Worldwide, thrips comprise about 5500 recognized species in 750 genera and 9 families 9 , and a checklist of these taxa can be accessed at: http://www.ento.csiro.au/thysanopteralworldthrips.html.
The highest diversity of thrips occurs in the warm tropical parts of the world while the number of species in the colder regions is limited.The thrips of the Indian subcontinent have been extensively documented by Ananthakrishnan & Sen 10 and Bhatti 1113 .However, in Sri Lanka thrips have scarcely been studied despite the significance of so many species to the agriculture and horticulture of this country.So far, the only published list of thrips of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) is by Schmutz 14 , which dates back to 1913.It includes a total of only 43 species.Most of the thrips listed in Schmutz 14 had been collected by Heinrich Uzel.He published the first extensive account of the Order Thysanoptera in 1895.Many years later, some of the fungus-feeding thrips of Sri Lanka were discussed in an account of nine genera of such thrips from the Oriental region 15 .More recently Oda et al 16 recorded thrips from ornamental plants in Sri Lanka.Wijerathna 17 listed 16 species of thrips from 28 crops along with many other insect pests from a wide variety of crops, compiled largely from unpublished records of the Department of Agriculture.The information on crop hosts 17 has not been included as all the counter references could not be traced.
Host records and host plant relationships of thrips have become very important, especially in the recent times, owing to an increase in abundance and distribution of thrips on a variety of economic crops and on natural vegetation (Figures 1 & 2).Adult thrips frequently rest on, and are collected from, plants on which they do not breed or feed.Therefore, in the absence of information on breeding many published records of "host plants" of thrips must be treated with caution.
Thrips differ from all other insects, both as adults and larvae, in having asymmetrical mouthparts where the right mandible is vestigial.Moreover, adults have a protrusible bladder at the apex of each tarsus and, when present, the wings have a marginal fringe of long cilia 6 , which is very characteristic of thrips.
The objective of this paper is to list the species of thrips recorded from Sri Lanka giving the reference to the first record of each species in the country.Some of the species listed from Sri Lanka are known only from their original, and often inadequate, descriptions, and the identity of some of these remain in doubt.The only relevant identification guides on the thrips of Sri Lanka are those on the fauna of the Indian subcontinent by Ananthakrishnan and Sen 1 ".For species associated with crops, the most useful source of information is the CD-Rom Thrips ID, available from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Canberra.Australia.This is an electronic information and identificatkrn system to 180 species of pest thrips worldwide, including representatives of all families, and is illustrated with 1500 colour photomicrographs'\ This present list is intended to form the basis for an ongoing field study on the diversity and ecology of thrips of Sri Lanka.

List of thrips recorded from Sri Lanka
Thysanoptera in Sri Lanka belongs to the three families Aeolothripidae, Thripidae and Phlaeothripidae.A total of 78 species of thrips belonging to 46 genera have been recorded.They are listed here initially under the two suborders Terebrantia and Tubilifera and thereafter under their respective family groups as recognized by Mound and Morris' 1 .A short introduction to each family group is followed by the current valid species name.Each species name is followed by the reference to its original publication with synonyms.Comments are made of any doubtful species or host records given in previous publications.Host records and collection localities of species as given in the original publications are included, where available.The abbreviations for collection localities are as follows: BA -Badalgama NE -Nuwara Eliya BEN -Bentota PA -Panadura DA -Dankotuwa PER -Peradeniya HA -Haputhale RA -Rambukkana NIT -Nittambuwa

Order Thysanoptera
Two suborders of Thysanoptera are recognized.In the suborder Terebrantia females have a saw-like ovipositor, and in suborder Tubulifera females have a soft eversible ovipositor and the last abdominal segments form a tube.The suborder Terebrantia includes eight families, of which two are recorded from Sri I^anka, and suborder Tubulifera is represented by a single worldwide family with many species in Sri Lanka.

Aeolothripidae
The 190 recognized species in this family live mainly on flowers in temperate regions, while in the tropics several genera of predatory species live on leaves.

Thripidae
About 2000 species worldwide are included in this family, in which four subfamilies are now recognized.

Thripidae -Panchaetothripinae
About 125 species are recognized in this subfamily, all leaf feeding and with the exception of ('aliothrips species, all breed on mature leaves.Wilson 2 " provided a taxonomic account of this group. Caliothrips graminicola (Bagnall & Cameron, 1932) Host/collected from: Recorded from grasses by Kudo 22 .This species also occurs in India, Australia and Sudan 22 .
It is known to be widespread on legumes in India.

Thripidae -Dendrothripinae
Almost 100 species are recognized in this subfamily, all living on the leaves of higher plants.Schmutz, 1913   Pseudodendrothrips ornatissimus Schmutz, 14 1913:999.This species is apparently associated in India with Artocarpus heterophyllus (EJak).Bagnall, 1916   Dendrothrips sexmaculatusBagnall, 34 1916:401.This species is described from Sri Lanka 34 and is wide spread in southern India.It is also known from South Africa.

Thripidae -Thripinae
At least 1700 species are recognized in this subfamily.They breed mostly on flowers or on leaves, with many also breeding on grasses, whilst a few are predatory or feed on ferns.This subfamily includes most of the serious thrips pests, including all the vectors of tospoviruses 4 .Trybom, 1911   Anaphothrips sudanensis Trybom,35 1911: 60.Neophysopus medioflavus Schmutz, 14 1913:1017.This species is recorded from Sri Lanka by Schmutz 14 .This species is widespread in the tropics and subtropics and it is known to feed on grasses, cereals and sugar cane.Schmutz, 1913   Thrips striatopennatus Schmutz, 14 1913:1002.

September 2007
This species is recorded from Sri Lanka by Schmutz 14 .A widespread tropical species on grasses.

Megalurothrips distalis (Karny, 1913)
Taeniothrips distalis Karny,42 1913: 122.Host/collected from: Canna and white clover (NE) 16 .All species of Megalurothrips are known to breed on flowers of Fabaceae, although adults can be found sometimes on other flowers, such as Canna.

Thrips coloratus (Schmutz, 1913)
Thrips coloratus Schmutz, 14 1913:1013.This species is recorded from Sri Lanka by Schmutz 14 , as a flower feeding species.It is widespread across Asia to Australia.
It is a highly polyphagous worldwide pest.

Suborder Tubulifera
Only a single family with two subfamilies is recognized in this Suborder.

Phlaeothripidae -Idolothripinae
There are about 600 species worldwide in this subfamily, and all of them feed by ingesting whole fungal spores.Mound & Palmer 52 provide an account of the genera in this group, and Mound & Palmer 15 provide keys to some species.