First description of the male of Oxythrips tristis Bagnall (Thysanoptera:Thripidae)

Oxythrips tristis is a Mediterranean species described by Bagnall (1927) on one female collected from flowers of Eryngium maritimum [Apiaceae] in South France. Subsequently, adult females of this species have been recorded from Spain, Turkey and Italy (Umbria), collected from Juniperus thurifera, Quercus ilex, Q. suber and plants beneath these trees (zur Strassen 2003). Despite this, males of tristis have remained unknown until, during 2005–2010, a few specimens of both sexes were collected in northern Italy on Eryngium campestre. The females were identified using published literature ( Zur Strassen 2003), and the male is here described and illustrated for the first time.