The Thrips of California Part I: Suborder Terebrantia

Abstract

In sects belonging to the order Thysanoptera are generally called thrips. The order is divided into two suborders, the Terebrantia, in which the females have a sawlike ovipositor, and the Tubulifera, those in which the ovipositor is lacking and both sexes have the terminal abdominal segments in the shape of a tube. The first suborder has four families, the Aeolothripidae, Merothripidae, Heterothripidae, and Thripidae, all of which are found in California. The metamorphosis of the group is intermediate be-tween the simple and complete types. The small size of thrips, from 0.5 to 5.0 mm. in length, makes accurate dorsal mounting on slides necessary to see, measure, and illustrate the minute characters used in classification. This report covers the Terebrantia only; an up-to-date review of the Tubulifera of California is being published elsewhere.