Scirtothrips dorsalis

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Chilli Thrips

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Thysanoptera
Family: Thripidae
Subfamily: Thripinae
Genus: Scirtothrips
Species: S. dorsalis
Binomial name
Scirtothrips dorsalis
Hood, 1919

The chilli thrips[1] or yellow tea thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood, is an extremely successful invasive species of pest-thrips[2] which has recently expanded from Asia, 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, mango, citrus, strawberry, cotton, tea, peanuts, and roses. This thrips appears to feed preferentially on new growth, and infested plants usually develop characteristic wrinkled leaves, and a 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[3].

This thrips has a rapid life cycle, and can develop from egg to adult in slightly less than two weeks under optimal weather conditions.

A rough field identification can be made of this thrips by searching for the following traits under low power magnification: small size (relative to other thrips), yellow coloration, dark antennae, and dark striping on the lower abdomen[4][5][6].

Recent research[7] suggests that S. dorsalis may represent a species complex of two or three disparate species who are morphologically similar.

[edit] Footnotes and specific references

  1. ^ This is the more common international spelling of "chilli" outside of the United States. This spelling has been preserved in the common name for the insect by entomologists in the United States in deference to the body of literature already published for this species by international authors.
  2. ^ Morse, JG; Hoddle, MS (2005). Invasion biology of thrips. Annual Reviews of Entomology 51: 67 – 89.
  3. ^ Whitfield AE, Ullman DE, German TL (2005). Tospovirus-thrips interactions. Annual Review of Phytopathology. 43: 459–89.
  4. ^ Skarlinsky, T (2004). Identification aid for Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood. Unpublished USDA, APHIS PPQ document. 6 pgs.
  5. ^ Seal, D; Ciomperlik, MA (2004). Surveys of St. Lucia and St. Vincent for Scirtothrips dorsalis (Hood), Jan. 14-23, 2004. USDA APHIS PPQ, Technical Report. 19 pp.
  6. ^ Seal, D; Ciomperlik, MA; Richards, ML; Klassen, W (2006). Distribution of Scirtothrips dorsalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in pepper fields and on pepper plants in St. Vincent. Florida Entomologist 89: 311 – 320.
  7. ^ Hoddle, M. S., J. M. Heraty, P. F. Rugman-Jones, L. A. Mound, and R. Stouthamer. 2008. Relationships Among Species of Scirtothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae, Thripinae) Using Molecular and Morphological Data. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 101: 491 – 500.

[edit] External links


[edit] References

  • Hoddle, MS; Mound, LA (2003). The genus Scirtothips in Australia (Insecta, Thysanoptera, Thripidae). Zootaxa, 268: 1 – 40.
  • Mound, LA; Palmer, JM (1981). Identification, distribution and host-plants of the pest species of Scirtothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research 71: 467-479.
  • Silagyi, AJ; Dixon, WN (2006). Assessment of Chili thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood. Florida Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey. Division of Plant Industry. Program report 206-08-SDS-01. 9 pgs.