Thrips feeding and ovipositing may result in distortion, discoloration, stunting, and silvering of the fruits of vegetables and fruit crops. Thrips are commonly found on pepper in north Florida and can seriously deplete yields. Understanding thrips behavior and their reproductive potential is important for determining effective natural enemies and applying appropriate pest management strategies. All Frankliniella thrips fed and rested more on flowers than any other plant part of pepper. Females of F. occidentalis and F. tritici were more fecund during the first two weeks of adulthood than at any other time. The number of offspring produced per day for both Frankliniella species were similar, however the longevity of F. occidentalis tended to be longer than that of F. tritici.
Species 1: Thysanoptera Thripidae Frankliniella occidentalis (western flower thrips)
Species 2: Thysanoptera Thripidae Frankliniella tritici (flower thrips)
Species 3: Thysanoptera Thripidae Frankliniella bispinosa
Keywords: Thripidae, Behavior
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA