New distributional records of thrips (Insecta, Thysanoptera) from West Bengal, India

Abstract

Several extensive field surveys conducted in West Bengal, India from 2022-2024, to explore the species diversity of order Thysanoptera, revealed a total of 10 species of thrips identify to be new for the state. These species come under three subfamilies of two families, Thripidae (six species) and Phaleothripidae (four species). The subfamily Panchaetothripinae is represented by Helionothrips aino (Ishida); subfamily Thripinae by Arorathrips mexicanus (D.L. Crawford), Ctenothrips transeolineae Chen, Megalurothrips usitatus (Bagnall), Taeniothrips orchidi Ananthakrishnan, and Thrips florum Schumtz; and subfamily Phaleothripinae by Androthrips flavipes Schmutz, Gynaikothrips cecidii Ananthakrishnan, Liophloeothrips ablusus Ananthakrishnan, and Mesandrothrips flavitibia Ananthakrishnan & Jagadish. Species diagnoses and their distribution data are also provided. The study highlights the rich yet understudied diversity of thrips in West Bengal and underscores the need for continued faunistic exploration.