No abstract

Hawaiian flower thrips, Thrips hawaiiensis (Morgan, 1913) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is the first time reported from Mersin province in Turkey, on lemons in 2015. T. hawaiiensis caused silvery spots on young fruits and dissertations of the fruits, and also silvered plant tissue on nectarine fruits. Its typical damage on lemon fruits was widely observed in "Yediveren" limon group, which they are flowering throughout a year in the region. After its first detection, it quickly spread over the south eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey. Additionally, this thrips was recorded on some vegetables, ornamentals and field crop plants such as cotton, sunflower, maize and sesame. Brief information about morphology, biology, economic importance and distribution of this pest thrips are also given.

The western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is often recognized as a serious pest of strawberries worldwide. Although F. occidentalis is known as the dominant species among thrips infesting strawberry plants, limited information is available about comparable data of treated and untreated plots of tunnel-grown strawberry in Turkey. In this study, significantly more larvae and adults of F. occidentalis were collected from the flowers, when compared with red or green fruits during the year 2011-2012 (P<0.05). Nearly 60% of flowers were infested with 10 or more adults, which is the current economic threshold level (ETL; 10 thrips per flower) in this crop. Furthermore, about 6% of red fruits were found to be infested with one or more adults and larval thrips. However, it was observed that population density i.e. 0.4-0.6 and 15 adults per green or red fruit and flowers, respectively, did not cause any damage to the flowers and fruiting parts. No significant difference was observed in the yields of treated and untreated strawberry plots during 2011-2012. It was concluded that population density i.e. 15 F. occidentalis individuals per flower may not cause visible damage. Furthermore, economic threshold level for F. occidentalis (ETL; 10 thrips per flower), appears to be too low. It is suggested that the ETL of F. occidentalis in strawberry needs to be re-evaluated in Turkey.

Sticky colored traps have been widely used for sampling of harmful insects in wild and cultivated plants worldwide. Colored sticky traps could be a simple and a low-cost method for determining the relative abundance of harmful and beneficial insects, including pollinators. However, knowledge about catches of nontargeted insects such as pollinators by colored traps is rudimentary. Trials were conducted to evaluate the attractiveness of various colors (white, yellow, blue, and green) to some pollinating insects in apple in Adana Province, Turkey, during 2011 and 2012. Colored plates were hung at about 1.70 m from ground level of the exterior canopy of the selected trees at the beginning of their blooming and they were positioned toward the 4 cardinal directions. A total of 7 insect species belonging to the families Syrphidae (6 species, Diptera) and Apidae (1 species, Hymenoptera) were identified. Pollinating hoverfly Eristalis tenax L. and honey bee Apis mellifera L. were frequently captured, and significantly more of them were captured on white traps (P < 0.05). Blue and green colored traps were less attractive to both pollinator species. Cardinal directions did not have a significant effect on catches of E. tenax and A. mellifera on white traps. The use of white sticky traps may provide more ecological data for pollinators. However, using white colored traps for mass trapping of harmful insect species in fruit orchards may be risky due to reducing their numbers, particularly during blooming periods of the fruit orchards. Arrangements of sticky trap use prior to peak occurrence of the pollinators would be a better approach in terms of conservation of pollinators and sustainability of ecosystems.

Damage of the Miridae species on cotton was determined in cotton fields in two locations of Adana Province (Çukurova Region), Turkey during the years, 2013-2014. Experiments were conducted over 2 years with sprayed and unsprayed plots. Creontiades pallidus (Rambur, 1839) and Lygus italicus Wagner, 1950 were detected at both experimental areas. Also, the correlations between the mirid population and stained bolls have been investigated. The damage caused by the mirids on squares and bolls was measured in caged branch experiments. Mirid population increased from mid-July reaching the highest population density in late July or early August. Where mirid numbers were high, stained bolls and shed bolls were also high. As the number of C. pallidus nymphs released into the cages increased, the damage rates increased on the squares after 7 and 14 d. In cages with zero, one, two and four individuals released, damage rates in squares were 0, 0.9, 5.9 and 33.6%, respectively, after 7 d, and 0, 22.2, 41.4 and 58.0%, respectively, after 14 d. In addition, all bolls with a diameter of 0.5-0.9 cm after 7 d in cages with nymphs released were damaged. ÖzAdana İli (Çukurova Bölgesi), Türkiye'de pamuk tarlalarında 2013 ve 2014 yıllarında iki farklı bölgede yürütülen çalışmada Miridae türlerinin pamukta meydana getirdikleri zararlar tespit edilmiştir. Denemeler iki farklı lokasyonda ilaçlı ve ilaçsız parseller şeklinde 2 yıl üst üste kurulmuştur. Deneme yapılan 2 tarlada hem Creontiades pallidus (Rambur, 1839) hem de Lygus italicus Wagner, 1950 türü bulunmuştur. Ayrıca, mirid popülasyonu ile lekeli kozalar arasındaki ilişki incelenmiştir. Miridlerin tarak ve kozalarda oluşturduğu zarar dal-kafes denemeleriyle ortaya konulmuştur. Mirid popülasyonu temmuz ayı ortasından sonra artmış, temmuz sonu veya ağustos başında en yüksek noktaya ulaşmıştır. Mirid popülasyonu yüksek olduğunda, lekeli koza sayısı ve yere dökülen kozaların sayısı da yüksektir. C. pallidus'un kafeslere salınan nimf sayıları arttıkça 7 ve 14 gün sonunda taraklarda verdikleri zarar oranlarının da arttığı görülmüştür. Sıfır, bir, iki ve dört birey salınan kafeslerde taraklarda zarar oranları 7 gün sonra sırasıyla %0, 0.9, 5.9 ve 33,6 bulunmuşken, 14 gün sonra %0, 22,2, 41,4 ve 58,0 bulunmuştur. Ayrıca kozalardaki zarar oranı, 0.5-0.9 cm çaplı kozalarda 7 gün sonra kafeslerde tüm bireyler için %100 bulunmuştur.