The subfamily Panchaetothripinae Bagnall (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) comprises about 150 species belonging to 42 genera worldwide. Amongst these, twelve species belonging to six genera were previously recorded from the Arabian Peninsula, including eight species in four genera from Saudi Arabia. The Faunistic studies on the subfamily have been confined to the tropical and subtropical parts of Africa, America, Southeast Asia and Australia. However, the tropical regions of the Arabian Peninsula remained under-studied, with no considerable work having been done on this subfamily.

We present the first illustrated key to the Panchaetothripinae genera of the Arabian Peninsula and a checklist of Arabian species to facilitate their recognition. Moreover, two genera and species, Hercinothrips femoralis (Reuter) and Rhipiphorothrips cruentatus Hood, are recorded as new to Saudi Arabia. New distributional data for each species is also given. The presence of greenhouse thrips Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis Bouche in the country is doubtful. The species has not been recovered despite extensive surveys across the country spanning over six years. However, it is kept in the Arabian species list until further confirmations.