Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society (2003) 36, 79-87

Robert G. Hollingsworth (2003)
Life history observations on Thrips florum (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) infesting Gardenia in Hawaii, and a comparison of the humidity requirements for T. florum and Frankliniella occidentalis
Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 36, 79-87
Abstract: Thrips florum Schmutz is a common pest of gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) flowers in Hawaii. Typically hundreds of thrips infest each flower, and their feeding and egg laying punctures result in a brown discoloration of the white petals. The life cycle and biology of this pest was studied. on gardenia flowers to facilitate proper timing of control procedures. This is possibly the first report on the developmental biology of this species. In laboratory tests, the development period from egg to adult female required a minimum of 17 days at 20°C and 11 days at 24°C. Significant proportions of second instars, propupae and pupae were found off the flower and resting on the bottoms or sides of rearing containers. Difficulty in rearing insects led to the observation that adults could not tolerate even short exposures to low or moderate levels of relative humidity (RH). In controlled humidity tests, only 19% of T. florum survived a 24-hour exposure to 92.5% RH, whereas this level was tolerated by >90% of western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande). In field studies, the number of T. florum infesting gardenia blossoms in a 0.8-ha gardenia planting typically exceeded 200 adults per flower. Removing all open gardenia blossoms from the field once per week was associated with large reductions in the thrips population and an elimination of noticeable damage to flower buds.
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Database assignments for author(s): Robert G. Hollingsworth

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Frankliniella occidentalis		U.S.A. (Hawaii)
	Thrips florum		Costa Rica
	Thrips florum		Guatemala
	Thrips florum		U.S.A. (SE)
	Thrips florum	Gardenia (crop)	U.S.A. (Hawaii)