The Gladiolus Thrips, Taeneothrips Simplex (Morison), In Florida

The gladiolus thrips was described by Morison as Physothrips simplex in 1930 from five female specimens collected on carnation flowers from Urrbrae, South Australia. The holotype and one paratype are deposited in the British Museum. In 1931, Moulton and Steinweden described this thrips under the name Taeniothrips gladioli from Ontario, Canada, and it was synonymized by Steele (1935). Kellie O’Neill of the U.S. National Museum has suggested that this thrips probably originated in Africa as did its preferred host gladiolus.