A review of the species of Thrips Linnaeus, 1758 (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) from Africa, Europe, and the Mediterranean region

A total of 130 species of thrips occurring in Africa, Europe, and the Mediterranean region were intercepted by U.S. agricultural quarantine officers in shipments of plants and cut flowers at the various ports of entry in the United States from 1983 to 1999. Of the 24 most commonly intercepted species encountered by port identifiers during this period, 10 were species of the genus Thrips Linnaeus (T. tabaci Lindeman, T. fuscipennis Haliday, T. major Uzel, T vulgatissimus (Haliday), T. meridionalis Priesner, T flavus Schrank, T atratus (Haliday), T. simplex (Morison), T. nigropilosus Uzel, and T. australis (Bagnall)). This paper provides information on all 100 species of Thrips from Africa, Europe, and the Mediterranean region necessary for completion of Part III of a guide to the identification of thrips entering the U.S.A. from those regions. It is designed primarily to aid the identification capabilities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA, APHIS) identifiers at U.S. ports-of-entry, but those interested in thrips in general will also benefit from this information.