“Testing the limits” — an interesting record of the exotic banded greenhouse thrips Hercinothrips femoralis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae: Panchaetothripinae) at high Carpathian mountain altitudes

Abstract

This study deals with an interesting record of exotic pest thrips Hercinothrips femoralis (Reuter, 1891) small population in the Carpathian mountain area (Vysoke Tatry Mts, N Slovakia) during the extensive research on high altitude forest succession. Hercinothrips femoralis is a well-known African pest species that has been introduced into the temperate regions of Europe, surviving only in glasshouses. The record in the coldest altitudes ever published (more than 1,000 m a.s.l.) indicates a role of passive migration and an effort of insects to taste ecological and environmental limits in their distribution.