Megalurothrips usitatus (Bagnall) is a serious pest of legumes and originates from the Asian tropics. It was documented in south Florida in 2020 where it has significantly impacted production of snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Field surveys in the Homestead Agricultural Area (HAA) in 2020 revealed the presence of M. usitatus on lablab bean (Lablab purpureus), a specialty legume. Flowers were collected Apr-Jun 2022 from lablab fields in the HAA to assess the importance of lablab as a host for M. usitatus. Crops were sampled from one grower who applied insecticides weekly and another grower who applied insecticides every 2 to 3 wk. All collected adult thrips were mounted, identified to species, and sexed, and all larvae were counted. The percentage of each species identified in the adult stage was: Frankliniella insularis (Franklin), 48.6%; M. usitatus, 28.0%; Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), 21.1%; Thrips palmi Karny, 1.2%; Frankliniella bispinosa Morgan, 1.1%; and Frankliniella schultzei (Trybom), 0.1%. Females predominated for each species. The abundance of thrips was not different between the two growers; however, combined invasive thrips species (M. usitatus, F. occidentalis, T. palmi) were 1.5 times more abundant than non-pest thrips (F. insularis, F. bispinosa) on the farms that were treated weekly with insecticides. In addition, non-pest thrips were three times more abundant than invasive thrips on the farms that were treated every 2 to 3 wk. with insecticides. The importance of lablab bean as an alternate host for M. usitatus is discussed.
Ivey et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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