Modern methods in thrips identification and information (Insecta -Thysanoptera)
Moritz, G. et al. Bulletin EPPO Paris 30 (2000) 591-593.
Less than one per cent of all thrips species, that means 50 species of the order Thysanoptera are accepted as pest species in agriculture, horticulture and forestry. In the last years less than 10 species of the Thripidae has increased their importance as effective vectors of tospoviruses. These considerations leads to a different view of modern identification methods followed by the question - which species should go in a key and who will use the key? A modern computerized interactive key should cover a restricted number of species of known economic importance and furthermore, the key should combine classical (Mound et al. 1976 Moritz 1994, Palmer et al. 1989, Mound and Kibby 1998, Moritz & Mound 1996, 1998, 1999) and molecular identification methods. This combination saves time and money and allows a quick and correct identification of all ontogenetic stages. In the case of important and difficult pest species we include an interface to a molecular identification strategy for adult and mainly larval stages, using the technique of restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the amplified internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA (ITS-RFLP).
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