Scirtothrips dorsalis, Thrips palmi
| Damage symptoms Areas near the mid-vein are brown and dried up. The major damage occurs on the undersides of new or old leaves. Leaves tend to curl upward like the shell of a boat. They appear distorted or misshapen. Insect characteristics Modified piercing-sucking mouthparts. These insects are very small, about the size of a flea. They are just visible to the naked eye. The young are yellow or white. Adults are darker and brownish with or without stripes on their backs. Where to look Inspect the upper surface of the leaves for brownish damaged areas on either side of the mid-vein. Insects congregate at the mid-vein or at the borders of damaged areas and feed on healthy tissue. | |
Technical information
Adults lay eggs within leaf tissues and the young hatch after several days. Adults are excitable and fly off if disturbed. Pupation occurs in the soil usually at the base of the plant. Definitive identification of species should be made by trained taxonomists. Thrips feed on a wide variety of vegetable crops. Some species are host-specific and some are not.
Leaf curling
Scarred fruits
No comments:
Post a Comment