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Seasonal abundance and spatial distribution of larval and adult thrips (Thysanoptera) on weed host plants in mango orchards in Penang, Malaysia

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Abstract

The spatial distribution of larval and adult thrips (Thysanoptera) was studied on mango panicles, Mangifera indica L., on Penang Island, Malaysia, during two consecutive mango flowering seasons from December 2008 to March 2009 and from August to September 2009. Larval and adult thrips were sampled from mango panicles using the carbon dioxide (CO2) collection technique weekly in treated and untreated orchards. Seasonal abundance and dispersion pattern of thrips were investigated on weed host plants in the treated orchard between June 2008 and March 2009. Spatiotemporal dynamics of larvae and adults was analyzed using Taylor’s Power Law (TPL), Lloyd’s Index (LI), and Green’s Index (GI). Thrips hawaiiensis (Morgan) was the dominant thrips species recovered from mango panicles and weeds in the treated orchard, whereas Scirtothrips dorsalis (Hood) was the most abundant species captured in the untreated orchard. Thrips adults and larvae analyzed via dispersion indices were found to be aggregated in mango panicles in both orchards. The value of the aggregation index (b) of TPL for the total number of adult thrips was significantly higher in the treated orchard than in the untreated orchard, whereas slopes of TPL for the total number of larval thrips did not differ significantly between treated and untreated orchards. All adult thrips species were distributed regularly on the weed plants; however, their larvae were aggregated. It is concluded that pesticide treatment caused adult thrips to become more aggregated on mango panicles, hiding in flower parts that were less exposed to the chemicals.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Surakrai Permkam, Department of Pest Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand, for kindly verifying specimens. We express our appreciation to Dr. Laurence Mound for his valuable remarks and guidance while identifying the collections. We are grateful to the Agriculture Office of Balik Pulau District, especially to Mr. Hedzir Ilyasak, who allowed us to study a mango orchard in Kampung Perlis, Penang. We gratefully acknowledge the Dean, School of Biological Sciences, for facilitating this research both in the laboratory and in the field. Financial support was provided by Universiti Sains Malaysia short-term research grant 304/PBIOLOGI/630166 and USM fellowship.

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  1. School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia

    Hamaseh Aliakbarpour & Md Rawi Che Salmah

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  1. Hamaseh Aliakbarpour
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  2. Md Rawi Che Salmah
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Correspondence to Hamaseh Aliakbarpour.

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Aliakbarpour, H., Che Salmah, M.R. Seasonal abundance and spatial distribution of larval and adult thrips (Thysanoptera) on weed host plants in mango orchards in Penang, Malaysia. Appl Entomol Zool 46, 185–194 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-011-0030-5

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