Effects of temperature and precipitation on the temporal patterns of dispersing tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca, and onion thrips, Thrips tabaci, caught on yellow sticky traps were estimated in central and eastern North Carolina and eastern Virginia from 1997 through 2001. The impact that these environmental factors had on numbers of F. fusca and T. tabaci caught on sticky traps during April and May was determined using stepwise regression analysis of 43 and 38 site-years of aerial trapping data from 21 and 18 different field locations, respectively. The independent variables used in the regression models included degree-days, total precipitation, and the number of days in which precipitation occurred during January through May. Each variable was significant in explaining variation for both thrips species and, in all models, degree-days was the single best explanatory variable. Precipitation had a comparatively greater effect on T. tabaci than F. fusca. The numbers of F. fusca and T. tabaci captured in flight were positively related to degree-days and the number of days with precipitation but negatively related to total precipitation. Combined in a single model, degree-days, total precipitation, and the number of days with precipitation explained 70 and 55% of the total variation in the number of F. fusca captured from 1 April through 10 May and from 1 April through 31 May, respectively. Regarding T. tabaci flights, degree-days, total precipitation, and the number of days with precipitation collectively explained 57 and 63% of the total variation in the number captured from 1 April through 10 May and from 1 April through 31 May, respectively.

Estimates of neonicotinoid resistance indicate an emerging issue for management of F. fusca in the eastern United States. Significant variation in survivorship within states and regions indicated that finer-scale surveys were needed to determine factors (genetic, insecticide use) driving resistance evolution. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

These findings provide valuable information for characterizing Vip3A resistance, resistance monitoring, and developing effective resistance management strategies for the sustainable use of the Vip3A technology. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of temperature and rainfall timing, amount, and duration on the spread of Tomato spotted wilt virus (Bunyaviridae: genus Tospovirus; TSWV) and population growth of its primary vector, Frankliniella fusca (Hinds) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), within patches of common chickweed, Stellaria media (L.) Cyrillo (Caryophyllaceae), were examined during the spring of 2004, 2005, and 2006. Elevated temperature treatments were investigated in an attempt to alter the age structure of F. fusca populations and change the effect of precipitation, but an average increase in daily temperature of 1 °C did not increase population size until late spring. Populations of immature F. fusca were immediately and negatively influenced by large amounts of rainfall or by rainfall distributed over three or more consecutive days during late April and early May. However, when precipitation was distributed over 1–3 days during early May, it also delayed senescence of the chickweed and ultimately resulted in a larger F. fusca population late in the season. The majority of TSWV spread within patches of chickweed occurred after mid‐April. The fewest TSWV‐infected chickweed plants occurred in plots that received high levels of precipitation during April or throughout spring and the amount of spread was directly related to the size of the immature F. fusca population that developed in each plot.

Effects of temperature and precipitation on spring dispersal patterns of Frankliniella fusca (Hinds) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) caught on yellow sticky traps were estimated in central and eastern North Carolina and eastern Virginia, USA, from 1997 to 2001, and in 2004 and 2007. Data were collected from 44 sites within 14 locations over 7 years, resulting in 30 location‐year data combinations. The following independent variables were examined to determine their relationship to the number of F. fusca caught on sticky traps during specified time intervals: cumulative degree days (base 10.5 °C) from 1 November to the start of each trapping interval (DD), number of days with temperatures favorable for flight during each trapping interval (DTFF), and an index of rainfall during specific intervals prior to and during the trapping interval (RI). Regression models that contained various combinations of these variables explained 62, 79, 74, and 68% of the variation in the number of dispersing F. fusca captured during 1–15 April, 16–30 April, 1–15 May, and 16–31 May, respectively. The results provide strong evidence that the suppressive effects of precipitation on growth of local populations developing during late winter and early spring are subsequently manifest at the landscape scale as reductions in the populations of dispersing adults that may persist for as long as 5–6 weeks after the precipitation occurs.