The genus Allothrips Hood, with one species A. bournieri Mound, is reported for the first time in Iran and the generic classification of Phlaeothripidae is discussed briefly. A key is provided to distinguish the four genera recorded in Iran of the spore-feeding thrips in the Idolothripinae.

The weeping fig thrips Gynaikothrips uzeli Zimmermann (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae) is newly recorded for the first time in the leaf galls of the weeping fig tree Ficus benjamina L. (Rosales: Moraceae) in the coastal area of Tartous, Syria. The thrips caused purplish red spots on the leaf surface of the host plant and the leaves curl. G. uzeili appears to be successfully adapted to this area.

A new species, Caliothrips tongi, is described from eastern China, and an old record of the North American bean thrips, Caliothrips fasciatus (Pergande), from the same area is considered unreliable. Oneilliella pallidizonata Kudo is transferred to Caliothrips as a new combination.

That predators attack and prey defend is an oversimplified view. When size changes during development, large prey may be invulnerable to predators, and small juvenile predators vulnerable to attack by prey. This in turn may trigger a defensive response in adult predators to protect their offspring. Indeed, when sizes overlap, one may wonder "who is the predator and who is the prey"! Experiments...

Flow cytometry was used to study the genome sizes and ploidy levels for four thrips species: Franklinothrips orizabensis Johansen (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae), Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande, Frankliniella fusca Hinds, and Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). F. orizabensis males and females had 1C genome sizes of 426 Mb and 422 Mb, respectively. Male and female F. fusca had...

Meniscus climbing using a fixed body posture has been well documented for various aquatic and neustonic insects, but is not known from small flying insects that inadvertently become trapped on water surfaces. Here, we show that thrips (order Thysanoptera) can ascend a meniscus by arching their non-wetting bodies to translate head-first and upward along a water surface; if initially oriented bac...