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Seasonal Abundance of Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and Their Predators in Peppers and Ground
Cover Plantings in South Florida ABSTRACT
Galen Frantz, Larry Jacobs, G. Dudley Sutherland, and H. Charles Mellinger The seasonal abundance of flower thrips, Frankliniella spp, melon thrips (MT), Thrips palmi Karny, and composite thrips (CT), Microcephalothrips abdominalis Crawford, was determined by collecting infested blooms from bell peppers, crimson clover (CCL), and creeping oxeye (COE) Wedelia trilobata (L.). Predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and minute pirate bugs (MPB), Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) were collected from all host plants. The abundance of thrips and predatory species was affected by the season, with moderate numbers in the Fall declining through the winter months and rebounding in the Spring. Events such as the destruction of the Fall pepper crop, the onset of blooming in an adjacent citrus grove influenced insect numbers. The potential utility of cover crops as refuges for beneficial arthropods is discussed. |