Can diel activity patterns in the western flower thrips be exploited as part of an IPM strategy?
Holmes ND, Kirk WDJ
School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK.
Correspondence: n.d.holmes@keele.ac.uk
The western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) is a major worldwide horticultural pest. It damages plants by feeding and by the transmission of tospoviruses. Crop quality suffers as a result, leading to financial losses for growers. Chemical control of F. occidentalis is difficult because insecticide resistance is widespread. In addition, adults and larvae secrete themselves into small, tight spaces, limiting the effectiveness of current chemical treatments. Automated tracking and analysis software (EthoVision ver 3.1, Noldus Information Technology, Wageningen) has been used to record the diel behavior patterns of adult female thrips indicating when they walked, fed and retreated into small spaces. The resultant behavior profiles indicated the period of greatest activity during a 24-hour cycle when thrips were most likely to come into contact with a treatment, enhancing the effects of control procedures.
