Thrips specimens were collected in the year 2014 on different ornamental plants from Mahallat (Markazi Province), Iran. In this study, 11 species in six genera and three different families of Thysanoptera were collected and identified. The scientific names of thrips species are as follow: Melanthrips knechteli, M. pallidior, Frankliniella intonsa, F. occidentalis, Microcephalothrips abdominalis...

A fundamental goal of ecology is to understand whether ecological communities are structured according to general assembly rules or are essentially dictated by random processes. In the context of fragmentation, understanding assembly patterns and their mechanistic basis also has important implications for conservation. Using distribution data of 20 bat species collected on 11 islands in Gatun L...

The difficulties specialized phytophagous insects face in finding habitats with an appropriate host should constrain their dispersal. Within the concept of metacommunities, this leads to the prediction that host-plant specialists should sort into local assemblages according to the local environmental conditions, i.e. habitat conditions, whereas assemblages of host-plant generalists should depen...

Scirtothrips perseae Nakahara was discovered attacking avocados in California, USA, in 1996. Host plant surveys in California indicated that S. perseae has a highly restricted host range with larvae being found only on avocados, while adults were collected from 11 different plant species. As part of a management program for this pest, a ‘‘classical’’ biological control program was initiated and...