Onion thrips (Thrips tabaci Lindeman) has become a significant pest of cabbage (Brasssica oleracea L.) in regions with a dry continental climate. Thrips-resistant cabbage varieties have been developed in breeding programs, but the mechanisms ofresistance remain largely unknown. Antixenosis, one of the three resistance mechanisms, may play a role but no plant trait has been identified as a sourc...

The New Zealand flower thrips, (Thrips obscuratus Crawford) can damage nectarines, with both adults and larvae feeding on developing fruitlets. As T. obscuratus does not overwinter in Central Otago, it is thought that adults are carried on air currents from Canterbury in spring. We investigated if influxes of thrips as detected by sticky board catches over three seasons could be related to envi...

Greenhouse studies were conducted from 1996 to 1998 to determine the efficacy of spinosad, and acephate, against western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande) on transvaal daisy (Gerbera jamesonii H. Bolus ex. Hook f). In addition, the number of natural enemies inside and outside the greenhouse was determined. Studies were arranged in a randomized complete-block design with four b...

Flower thrips are one of the key pests in production of southern highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L. × V. darrowi Camp). They feed on the reproductive parts of the flower and reduce yield. Very few insecticides are available to manage thrips population. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate pre-existing and experimental insecticides for their efficacy against thrips. There is also a ...

Theory predicts that the balance of nutritional needs, food availability, and the quality of particular food items are important factors in the feeding decisions of omnivorous animals. In this study we investigate factors that affect the feeding decisions of an omnivorous thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) that eats both animal prey and plant foliage. In the presence of prey (mite eggs), adult...

Studies on bacteria in the gut of insect species are numerous, but their focus is hardly ever on the impact on host performance. We showed earlier that Erwinia bacteria occur in the gut of western flower thrips, most probably acquired during feeding. Here, we investigate whether thrips gain a net benefit or pay a net cost because of these gut bacteria. On a diet of cucumber leaves, the time to ...

Tospoviruses are considered to be dependent on Thysanoptera for their existence in nature, but scarcely 0.15% of Thysanoptera species (9 of 5500) are known to be vectors. Moreover, these vector species are not closely related to each other, suggesting either that many thrips species have lost an association with tospoviruses or that each Tospovirus species has evolved an independent relationshi...

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...

Improving mulberry leaf production with enhanced leaf quality holds the key to sustain the ever increasing demand for silk. Adoption of modern genomic approaches for crop improvement is severely constrained by the lack of sufficient molecular markers in mulberry. Here, we report development and validation of 206 EST derived SSR markers using transcriptome data generated from leaf tissue of a dr...