The Thysanoptera are opportunistic species exploiting intermittently occurring environments. The life history strategy is preadapted from the detriophagous ancestral group, and the need to succeed in a habitat in which optimal conditions are brief. The most advanced species are the flower thrips, primarily species of Frankliniella and Thrips. Most thrips are r-selected with population attributes that were believed to result in thrips outstripping the capacity of natural enemies to regulate populations. Recent research has revealed that species of Orius (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) and Thripinema (Tylenchida: Allantonematidae) are important natural enemies of flower thrips that suppress populations and cause local extinctions. Elucidation of multitrophic interactions that affect abundance and persistence of populations of prey and natural enemies in field crops is resulting in improved, ecologically based management programs for thrips and tospoviruses. Although many of the highly vagile species of thrips exhibit mass flights and are found in remote regions, there is little quantifiable information of local movements, dispersal rates, and patterns of migration. Better understandings of population turnover, local extinctions, and colonization of thrips vectors of tospoviruses are needed to effectively manage these emerging threats to global agriculture.
Species 1: Heteroptera Anthocoridae Orius
Species 2: Tylenchida Allantonematidae Thripinema
Keywords: tospoviruses
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