Australian Journal of Entomology (2004) 43, 133–137 Blackwell Science, LtdOxford, UKAENAustralian Journal of Entomology1326-67562004 Australian Entomological SocietyMay 2004432133137Original ArticleFirst Australian PanchaetothripsLA Mound and AC Postle *Author to whom correspondence should be addressed (email: laurence.mound@csiro.au). Panchaetothrips timonii sp. n. (Thysanoptera, Thripidae); first Australian record of this Old World tropical genus Laurence A Mound 1 * and Anthony C Postle 2 1 CSIRO Entomology, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. 2 Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy, PO Box 350, Broome, WA 6725, Australia. Abstract The Old World genus Panchaetothrips Bagnall has included five species, of which one is a pest of coffee in eastern Africa, and another attacks arrowroot, bananas and turmeric in India. The genus is here newly recorded from Australia, with P. timonii sp. n. found breeding on the leaves of Timonius timon (Rubiaceae) at Broome on the north-western coast. Immature stages fed on younger leaves, and, when disturbed, older larvae exuded an anal droplet. Adults were found mainly on mature leaves, where they exhibited the typically defensive behaviour of raising their heavily spined abdominal apex over the head. The new species is described and a key provided to the six known species of Panchaetothrips, although the identity of two South-east Asian species remains in doubt. Key words defensive behaviour, Panchaetothripinae, quarantine, thrips pests. INTRODUCTION Species of the Old World tropical genus Panchaetothrips Bagnall are related to the ubiquitous greenhouse thrips, Heliothrips haemorroidalis (Bouché). The larvae and pupae of these thrips live on the mature leaves of plants with adults being rarely found in flowers, and this relationship is common amongst species of Panchaetothripinae (Mound et al. 2001). The 125 members of this subfamily, one of four currently recognised in the Thripidae (Mound 2002), include a wide range of crop pests in tropical and subtropical parts of the world, such as the red-banded cocoa thrips (Selenothrips rubrocinctus (Giard)), the banana thrips (Hercinothrips bicinctus (Bagnall)), and the grape-vine thrips (Rhipiphoro- thrips cruentatus Hood). The wide range of crops whose leaves are damaged by such thrips include cocoa, grapes, roses, bananas, castor oil and seedling cotton. In addition, Panchaetothrips noxius Priesner breeds on coffee leaves in Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire, and P. indicus Bagnall is recorded damaging the leaves of turmeric (Curcuma longa), arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) and bananas in India (Wilson 1975). In view of the reputation of panchaetothripines as pests, discovery of an undescribed species of Panchaetothrips on the north-western coast of Australia is of interest to tropical agri- culture and quarantine in this country. However, very little is known of the thrips fauna of Australia’s northern coasts. Cur- rently, it is not possible to know if this thrips is a recent inadvertent introduction, or if it is an endemic, or even a recurrent immigrant on the normal wind systems. Certainly other thrips species, that until recently would have been con- sidered part of the Indonesian fauna, are being found increas- ingly in the northern tropical parts of Australia, despite there being no formal effort to investigate this fauna. For example, Thrips unispinus Moulton, described from Papua New Guinea, appears to be common along Australia’s northern coasts, and the South-east Asian species Megalurothrips typicus Bagnall and the Oriental species Craspedothrips minor (Bagnall) have both been found recently at Kununurra in northern Western Australia. Moreover, fragmentary material of several flower- living Thripidae species that appear to represent Indonesian species have been studied recently from northern Australia. The purpose of this paper is to describe the new species of Panchaetothrips, record our observations on its behaviour, and provide a key to identify the members of the genus in order to clarify the position of three eastern Asian species for which the descriptions are problematic. Of the 35 Panchaetothripinae genera recognised worldwide (Mound et al. 2001), 17 are now known from Australia (Mound 1996). Wilson (1975) provided a taxonomic account of the 110 species of this subfamily recognised at that time; Mound & Gillespie (1997) provided identification details for the species of the seven panchaetothripine genera found most often in Australia; and Moritz et al. (2001) provided a com- puterised information and identification system on pest thrips worldwide that included details of 16 panchaetothripine gen- era. These thrips have the body surface boldly reticulate, and members of Panchaetothrips are readily recognised from all but one species in the subfamily by the remarkably elongate tube-like tenth abdominal tergite, and the conspicuous array of stout spines on the terminal abdominal segments (Fig. 1). The sole exception is the Afrotropical Chaeturothrips machadoi Hood, but the forewing of that species bears a row of setae on the second vein (Hood 1954), whereas in Pancha- etothrips species the second vein bears no setae (Fig. 1).