Field response of onion thrips and New Zealand flower thrips to single and binary blends of thrips lures

Abstract

AbstractTests were performed to determine whether combining two thrips lures, ethyl nicotinate (EN) and ethyl isonicotinate (EI), in the same water trap increased the numbers of New Zealand flower thrips (NZFT), Thrips obscuratus Crawford, and onion thrips, T. tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Terebrantia: Thripidae), caught in the field relative to traps with a single lure. Traps with both lures (1:1 ratio; mixture or separate adjacent vials) caught 5–9 times more female onion thrips (thelyotokous populations are the most prevalent in New Zealand) than traps with EN only (P<0.001), but in similar numbers to traps with EI only. Traps with both lures caught 2–3 times as many male and female NZFT than traps with EI only, but in similar numbers to traps with EN only. Thus, a combination of the two lures in one trap could be used to detect and monitor flying onion thrips and NZFT simultaneously.