''Selenothrips rubrocinctus'', commonly known as the redbanded thrips, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

thrips Thrips ( order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Different thrips species feed mostly on plants by puncturing and sucking up the contents, although a few are ...

in the family

Thripidae The Thripidae are the most speciose family of thrips, with over 290 genera representing just over two thousand species. They can be distinguished from other thrips by a saw-like ovipositor curving downwards, narrow wings with two veins, and anten ...

. It was first described from the West Indies but may have originated in northern South America. It has spread to other parts of the world and now has a near pan-tropical distribution, occurring in North, Central, and South America, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia.

Description

The adult female redbanded thrip is about in length; the male is slightly smaller, but is seldom observed. The colour of both is black or dark brown with a reddish tinge, especially in the first three abdominal segments and the anal segments. The wings are dark. The nymphs and

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

e are distinctively coloured being yellow or pale orange, with the first three abdominal segments and the tip of the abdomen being vivid red.

Life cycle

Adult female redbanded thrips live for about a month, during which time they lay up to fifty eggs which are produced by

parthenogenesis Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development ...

. Each egg is deposited into the underside of a leaf, and covered by a drop of fluid which hardens into a protective black disc. After about four days, the eggs hatch into nymphs which have two

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

s. The nymphal period lasts for about nine days and is followed by two non-feeding stages, a pre-pupal and a pupal stage. The whole life cycle takes about three weeks, and there are several generations of the insect each year.

Damage

A large number of fruiting and ornamental trees act as

hosts A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places *Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman *Michel Host ( ...

to this thrips. It is a significant pest of

cacao Cacao is the seed from which cocoa and chocolate are made, from Spanish cacao, an adaptation of Nahuatl cacaua, the root form of cacahuatl ("bean of the cocoa-tree"). It may also refer to: Plants *''Theobroma cacao'', a tropical evergreen tree ** ...

and

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

in the West Indies. The adults and nymphs insert their mouthparts into the epidermis of young leaves, killing the cells as they suck sap and causing leaf silvering or browning. The leaf margins crinkle and the leaves become distorted and covered with dark faecal pellets. In heavy infestations the leaves drop off the tree, which may become denuded. Fruit may also be attacked, developing a russet appearance with cracks developing and decay setting in.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10665369 Thripidae Insects described in 1901 Insect pests of millets