New Distributional Records of the Subfamily Panchaetothripinae (Insecta: Thysanoptera: Terebrantia) from Puducherry, India

A faunistic survey of Thysanoptera (Insecta) was Conducted across diverse habitats in Puducherry, a Union territory of India, has led to the documentation of 5 species of subfamily Panchaetothripinae (Terebrantia: Thysanoptera) recorded for the first time from this region. Notably, this study represents the first ever record of Thysanoptera from Puducherry, a region that was previously unexplored in terms of thrips diversity. Field surveys were conducted in the Mahe district, located on the western Malabar Coast, surrounded by Kerala state, during the period 2024-2025. Five new records of thrips were recorded first time from this region. These newly recorded species belong to subfamily Panchaetothripinae under family Thripidae. These five species are Caliothrips graminicola (Bagnall & Cameron,), Retithrips syriacus (Mayet), Rhipiphorothrips pulchellus Morgan, Selenothrips rubrocinctus (Giard), Phibalothrips peringueyi (Faure). Detailed species diagnoses, material examined, distributional data, and illustrations are also provided in this study.