Western flower thrips

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Western flower thrips
Frankliniella occidentalis 5364132-LGPT.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Thysanoptera
Family: Thripidae
Genus: Frankliniella
Species:
F. occidentalis
Binomial name
Frankliniella occidentalis
Pergande, 1895

The western flower thrips [Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande)] is an invasive pest insect in agriculture. This species of thrips is native to the Southwestern United States [1] but has spread to other continents, including Europe, Australia (where it was identified in May 1993 [1] ), and South America via transport of infested plant material. [2]

Contents

Morphology

The adult male is about 1 millimetre (364 in) long; the female is slightly larger, about 1.4 millimetres (116 in) in length. [1] Males are rare, and are always pale yellow, while females vary in color, often by season, from red to yellow to dark brown. [1] Each adult is elongated and thin, with two pairs of long wings. The eggs are oval or kidney-shaped, white, and about 0.2 millimetres (1128 in) long. The nymph is yellowish in color with red eyes.[ citation needed ]

Instars

The lifecycle of the western flower thrips varies in length due to temperature, with the adult living from two to five or more weeks, and the nymph stage lasting from five to 20 days. Each female may lay 40 to over 100 eggs in the tissues of the plant, often in the flower, but also in the fruit or foliage. The newly hatched nymph feeds on the plant for two of its instars, then falls off the plant to complete its other two instar stages. Nymphs feed heavily on new fruit just beginning to develop from the flower. [3] [4]

Behavioral

Flower-feeding thrips are routinely attracted to bright floral colors, especially white, blue, and yellow, and will land and attempt to feed. Some flower thrips will "bite" humans wearing clothing with such bright colors, though no species feed on blood. Such biting does not result in any known disease transmission, but skin irritation is known to occur. [5]

Reproduction

Most western flower thrips are female and reproduce by arrhenotokous parthenogenesis; i.e. females can produce males from unfertilized eggs, but females arise only from fertilized eggs. [1]

Hosts

It has been documented to feed on over 500 different species of host plants, including a large number of fruit, vegetable, and ornamental crops [1] including Brassica oleracea (broccoli, 'Marathon'). [6] The insect damages the plant in several ways. The major damage is caused by the adult ovipositing in the plant tissue. The plant is also injured by feeding, which leaves holes and areas of silvery discoloration when the plant reacts to the insect's saliva. Nymphs feed heavily on new fruit just beginning to develop from the flower. The western flower thrips is also the major vector of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), a serious plant disease. It has been shown that acquiring TSWV (which only occurs during the larval stages) causes more feeding in the thrips which results in a longer life span eventually. [3] [4] Western flower thrips are a year-round pest, but are less destructive during wet weather. [7]

Management

Trapping

WFTs especially like the color blue, being attracted to blue card material and even more so to blue lights. They are somewhat interested in yellow and barely interested in white. Traps can still function even if surrounded with mesh to exclude beneficials such as hoverflies and bees. [6] Commercial semiochemical pheromone lures are also available which can be used in conjunction with blue sticky traps to maximise sticky trap catches of western flower thrips.[ citation needed ]

Biological controls

Damage can be reduced by growing barriers of nonhost plants around crops and by eliminating reservoir plants, plants to which the thrips are especially attracted, such as jimson weed. The thrips' natural enemies include pirate bugs of genus Orius and Neoseiulus cucumeris , a predatory mite species which is the most commonly used biological control agent against western flower thrips in protected crops including cucumber and strawberry. Other agents show promise as biological pest control, including the entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium robertsii (syn. M. anisopliae) and Beauveria bassiana , [7] and the mirid Dicyphus hesperus . [8]

Genetics

A draft genome assembly is available. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrips</span> Order of insects

Thrips are minute, slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Entomologists have described approximately 7,700 species. They fly only weakly and their feathery wings are unsuitable for conventional flight; instead, thrips exploit an unusual mechanism, clap and fling, to create lift using an unsteady circulation pattern with transient vortices near the wings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thripidae</span> Family of thrips

The Thripidae are the most speciose family of thrips, with over 290 genera representing just over two thousand species. They can be distinguished from other thrips by a saw-like ovipositor curving downwards, narrow wings with two veins, and antennae of six to ten antennomeres with stiletto-like forked sense cones on antennal segments III and IV.

<i>Franklinothrips</i> Genus of thrips

Franklinothrips is a genus of thrips with pantropical distribution.

<i>Impatiens necrotic spot orthotospovirus</i> Species of virus

Impatiens necrotic spot orthotospovirus(INSV) is a plant pathogenic virus of the order Bunyavirales. It was originally believed to be another strain of Tomato spotted wilt virus, but genetic investigations revealed them to be separate viruses. It is a negative-strand RNA virus which has a tripartite genome. It is largely spread by the insect vector of the western flower thrips. The virus infects more than 648 species of plants including important horticultural and agricultural species such as fuchsia, tomato, orchids, and lettuce (especially romaine). As the name implies, the main symptom on plants is necrotic spots that appear on the leaves. The INSV virus infects by injecting the RNA the virus contains into the cell which then starts using the cell resources to transcribe what the virus RNA states. Viral infection can often result in the death of the plant. The disease is mainly controlled by the elimination of the western flower thrip vector and by destroying any infected plant material.

<i>Orthotospovirus</i> Genus of viruses

Orthotospovirus is a genus of negative-strand RNA viruses, in the family Tospoviridae of the order Bunyavirales, which infects plants. Tospoviruses take their name from the species Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) which was discovered in Australia in 1919. TSWV remained the only known member of the family until the early 1990s when genetic characterisation of plant viruses became more common. There are now at least twenty species in the genus with more being discovered on a regular basis. Member viruses infect over eight hundred plant species from 82 different families.

<i>Scirtothrips dorsalis</i> Species of thrip

The chilli thrips or yellow tea thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood, is an extremely successful invasive species of pest-thrips which has expanded rapidly from Asia over the last twenty years, and is gradually achieving a global distribution. It has most recently been reported in St. Vincent (2004) Florida (2005), Texas (2006), and Puerto Rico (2007). It is a pest of economic significance with a broad host range, with prominent pest reports on crops including pepper, eggplant, mango, citrus, strawberry, grapes, cotton, tea, peanuts, blueberry, and roses. Chilli thrips appear to feed preferentially on new growth, and infested plants usually develop characteristic wrinkled leaves, with distinctive brown scarring along the veins of leaves, the buds of flowers, and the calyx of fruit. Feeding damage can reduce the sale value of crops produced, and in sufficient numbers, kill plants already aggravated by environmental stress. This thrips has also been implicated in the transmission of three tospoviruses, but there is some controversy over its efficiency as a vector.

<i>Thrips palmi</i> Species of thrip

Thrips palmi is an insect from the genus Thrips in the order Thysanoptera. It is known commonly as the melon thrips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thripinae</span> Subfamily of thrips

The Thripinae are a subfamily of thrips, insects of the order Thysanoptera. The Thripinae belong to the common thrips family Thripidae and include around 1,400 species in 150 genera. A 2012 molecular phylogeny found that the Thripinae was paraphyletic; further work will be needed to clarify the relationships within the group.

<i>Frankliniella tritici</i> Species of thrip

Frankliniella tritici, the eastern flower thrips, is a species of thrips in the genus Frankliniella. F. tritici inhabits blossom, such as dandelion flowers. They can directly damage plants, grasses and trees, in addition to commercial crops, and as a vector for tospoviruses, a form of plant virus, it particularly affects small fruit production in the United States, including strawberries, grapes, blueberries and blackberries. It can also affect alfalfa, oats, beans and asparagus crops. The species features strap-like wings edged with long hairs, a design which increases aerodynamic efficiency in very small arthropods; the reduced drag means the insect uses less energy. They extract nutrients directly from individual plant cells, and may also digest cells of fungi in the leaf litter.

<i>Orius insidiosus</i> Species of true bug

Orius insidiosus, common name the insidious flower bug, is a species of minute pirate bug, a predatory insect in the order Hemiptera. They are considered beneficial, as they feed on small pest arthropods and their eggs. They are mass-reared for use in the biological control of thrips.

<i>Neoseiulus cucumeris</i> Species of mite

Neoseiulus cucumeris, the cucumeris mite, is a species of predatory mite in the family Phytoseiidae. It is used in biological pest control of western flower thrips in cucumber and some other greenhouse crops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acylsugar</span>

Acylsugars are a group of plant-derived protective secondary metabolites that lack nitrogen. They typically consist of aliphatic acyl groups of low to medium chain lengths esterified to the hydroxyl groups of glucose or sucrose. Presence of such acyl groups gives these compounds hydrophobic properties. This group of compounds has been extensively studied in tomato and related species, in which these compounds are produced and secreted in sporadic amounts from trichomes on the plant leaf and stem surface. Production of copious quantities of these acylsugars give a sticky feel to the plant tissue. In particular, this flower has shown to distract herbivorous insect pests against thrips damage. It is believed that acylsugars provide physical and/or chemical defense to the plant.

Soybean vein necrosis orthotospovirus is a plant pathogenic virus of soybeans. SVNV is a relatively new virus, which was discovered in Tennessee in 2008 and has recently been found in many US states from the Southeast and East coast to some western states including CA. This pathogen initially causes intraveinal chlorosis (yellowing) in leaves. This chlorosis then spreads throughout the leaf and eventually these chlorotic areas can become necrotic. It is a member of the order Bunyavirales, family Tospoviridae and genus Orthotospovirus, which is the only genus within this virus family that infects plants. Like other members of Bunyavirales, this virus is enveloped and has a negative sense single-stranded RNA (−ssRNA) genome composed of three genomic segments. It encodes proteins on the M and S segments in an ambisense manner.

Dicyphus hesperus is a species of true bug in the family Miridae. It is a generalist predator of other insects and also feeds on plant tissues. It is native to North America and has been used there in biological control of agricultural pests, especially whitefly on tomatoes.

Typhlodromips swirskii, the Swirski mite, is a species of predatory mite in the family Phytoseiidae. It is used in biological pest control of western flower thrips in greenhouse or indoor grown crops.

Frankliniella schultzei, the common blossom thrips or cotton thrips, is a species of thrips in the family Thripidae. It is found in many parts of the world and is an important pest insect in agriculture.

Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis is a species of thrips in the family Thripidae. It is most commonly known as the greenhouse thrips, the glasshouse thrip or black tea thrips. This species of thrips was first described in 1833 by Bouché in Berlin, Germany. H. haemorrhoidalis also has many synonyms depending on where they were described from such as: H. adonidum Haliday, H. semiaureus Girault, H. abdominalis Reuter, H. angustior Priesner, H. ceylonicus Schultz, Dinurothrips rufiventris Girault. In New Zealand, H. haemorrhoidalis is one of the four species belonging to the subfamily Panchaetothripinae.

<i>Echinothrips americanus</i> Species of thrip

Echinothrips americanus is a species of thrips in the family Thripidae. It is found in North America, Europe, and Asia. E. americanus was first described in 1913 by entomologist A.C. Morgan in Quincy, Florida, where he found the insect on a Veratrum viride plant. Suggested common names include Poinsettia thrips and Impatiens thrips. Since their spread throughout Europe as early as 1995, and subsequently China, E. americanus has been called an "upcoming pest."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus</span> Species of virus

Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) is a spherical negative-sense RNA virus. Transmitted by thrips, it causes serious losses in economically important crops and it is one of the most economically devastating plant viruses in the world.

Neothrips is a genus of thrips in the family Phlaeothripidae. According to Kirk and Terry (2003), Neothrips fasciatus, also known as the greenhouse thrips, is a major pest of greenhouse crops worldwide, causing damage to leaves, flowers, and fruits, and transmitting plant viruses. Similarly, Mound and Tree (2016) reported the discovery of a new species within the genus, Neothrips quasimodo, in Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Clarke, G. M., Gross, S., Matthews, M., Catling, P. C., Baker, B., Hewitt, C. L., Crowther, D., & Saddler, S. R. 2000, Environmental Pest Species in Australia, Australia: State of the Environment, Second Technical Paper Series (Biodiversity), Department of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra.
  2. Kirk, DJ; Terry, IL (2003). The spread of the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande). Agricultural and Forest Entomology 5: 301 – 310.
  3. 1 2 Stafford, C.A.; Walker, G.P.; Ullman, D.E. (2011). "Infection with a plant virus modifies vector feeding behavior". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108 (23): 9350–9355. Bibcode:2011PNAS..108.9350S. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1100773108 . PMC   3111272 . PMID   21606372.
  4. 1 2 Ogada, P.A.; Maiss, E.; Poehling, H.-M. (2012). "Influence of tomato spotted wilt virus on performance and behaviour of western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis)". Journal of Applied Entomology. 137 (7): 488–498. doi:10.1111/jen.12023. S2CID   85405099.
  5. Childers CC, Beshear RJ, Frantz G, Nelms M (2005) A review of thrips species biting man including records in Florida and Georgia between 1986-1997. Florida Entomologist: Vol. 88, No. 4 pp. 447–451
  6. 1 2 Chen, Tian-Ye; Chu, Chang-Chi; Fitzgerald, Glenn; Natwick, Eric T.; Henneberry, Thomas J. (2004-10-01). "Trap Evaluations for Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae)". Environmental Entomology . Entomological Society of America (OUP). 33 (5): 1416–1420. doi: 10.1603/0046-225x-33.5.1416 . ISSN   0046-225X. S2CID   19628881.
  7. 1 2 Ansari, M.A., et al. (2007). Control of western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) pupae with Metarhizium anisopliae in peat and peat alternative growing media. Biological Control 40:3, 293-297.
  8. Shipp, J.L.; Wang, K. (2006). "Evaluation of Dicyphus hersperus (Heteroptera: Miridae) for biological control of Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on greenhouse tomato". Journal of Economic Entomology. 99 (2): 414–420. doi:10.1093/jee/99.2.414. PMID   16686140.
  9. Rotenberg, Dorith; Baumann, Aaron A.; Ben-Mahmoud, Sulley; Christiaens, Olivier; Dermauw, Wannes; Ioannidis, Panagiotis; Jacobs, Chris G. C.; Vargas Jentzsch, Iris M.; Oliver, Jonathan E.; Poelchau, Monica F.; Rajarapu, Swapna Priya; Schneweis, Derek J.; Snoeck, Simon; Taning, Clauvis N. T.; Wei, Dong; Widana Gamage, Shirani M. K.; Hughes, Daniel S. T.; Murali, Shwetha C.; Bailey, Samuel T.; Bejerman, Nicolas E.; Holmes, Christopher J.; Jennings, Emily C.; Rosendale, Andrew J.; Rosselot, Andrew; Hervey, Kaylee; Schneweis, Brandi A.; Cheng, Sammy; Childers, Christopher; Simão, Felipe A.; Dietzgen, Ralf G.; Chao, Hsu; Dinh, Huyen; Doddapaneni, Harsha Vardhan; Dugan, Shannon; Han, Yi; Lee, Sandra L.; Muzny, Donna M.; Qu, Jiaxin; Worley, Kim C.; Benoit, Joshua B.; Friedrich, Markus; Jones, Jeffery W.; Panfilio, Kristen A.; Park, Yoonseong; Robertson, Hugh M.; Smagghe, Guy; Ullman, Diane E.; van der Zee, Maurijn; Van Leeuwen, Thomas; Veenstra, Jan A.; Waterhouse, Robert M.; Weirauch, Matthew T.; Werren, John H.; Whitfield, Anna E.; Zdobnov, Evgeny M.; Gibbs, Richard A.; Richards, Stephen (2020-10-19). "Genome-enabled insights into the biology of thrips as crop pests". BMC Biology . BioMed Central. 18 (1): Article #142. doi: 10.1186/s12915-020-00862-9 . ISSN   1741-7007. PMC   7570057 . PMID   33070780. S2CID   224779449.
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