Thripinema fuscum is an important natural enemy of Frankliniella fusca in peanut. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the reproductive biology of T. fuscum as affected by sex and stage of development of the host and to determine the effects of parasitism on longevity, fecundity, and mortality. Parasitism nearly eliminated egg production, and hundreds of nematodes emerged from individual females. Males were parasitized less frequently, and fewer nematodes emerged. Infection did not greatly affect mortality of either sex. Infection rates of different wing forms, stages, and sexes of F. fusca were estimated in peanut fields. Larvae were rarely parasitized. Males were less infected than the females, and wing form of the host also influenced the level of infection. The parasitized and non-parasitized females aggregated in the flowers which explains why rates of parasitism increased when the peanuts began flowering. The parasite has a high intrinsic ability to suppress host populations in peanut, and thereby reduces the spread of tomato spotted wilt virus which the host vectors.
Species 1: Thysanoptera Thripidae Frankliniella fusca (tobacco thrips)
Species 2: Tylenchida Allantonematidae Thripinema fuscum
Keywords: thrips, nematode
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