f*/.h-/*' [ssued Julj 15, 1912. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY -CIRCULAR No. 151. L. O. HOWARD. Entomologist and Chief of Bureau. Till-] GREENHOUSE Til IMPS. BY II. M. RUSSELL, Entomological As s i s taut. WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1012 BUREA U OF ENTOMOLOGY. L. O. Howard, Entomologist and Chief of Bureau. C. L. Marlatt, Entomologist and Acting Chief in . l/*« nn of Chief. R. S. Clifton, Executive Assistant. W. F. Tastet,, Chief Clerk. F. H. Chittenden, in charge of truck crop and stored product insect investigations. A. D. Hopkins, in charge of forest insect investigations. W. D. Hunter, in charge of southern field crap insect investigations. F. M. Webster, in charge of cereal and forage insect investigations. A. L. Quaintance, tn charge of deciduous fruit insect investigations. E. F. Phillips, in charge of bee culture. D. M. Rogers, in charge ofpri venting spread of moths, fi< Id work. Roi i a P. Currie, in charge of editorial work. Mabel ColcObd, in charge of library. Truck Crop and Stored Product [nsect Investigations. F. II. Chittenden, in charge. H. M. Russell, C. H. Popenoe, Wm. B. Parker, II. 0. Marsh, M. M. High. Fred A. Johnston, John E. Graf, entomological assistants. 1. J. Condit, collaborator in California. P. T. Cole, collaborator in tiilcirtiicr Virginia. W. N. Ord, collaborator in Oregon. Tims. ||. Jones, collaborator in PortoRico. Marion T. Van Horn, Pauline M. Johnson, preparators. ii Circular No. 151. United States Department of Agriculture, BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY. L. O. HOWARD, Entomologist and Chief of Bureau. THE GREENHOUSE THRIPS. 1 I //. i lalis Bom I By II. M. Russell, Entomological Assistant. INTRODUCTION. The greenhouse thrips has been the cause "!' considerable injury to ornamentals during the past century, and where its presence is not suspected or treatment i- oeglected it will cause the utter ruin of cer- tain plain-, in the greenhouse, grown principally for the beauty of their foliage. Likewise in the more tropical sections of the United States, such as southern Florida and southern California, this insect causes L r ivat damage to some outdoor- plants. DESCRIPTION AM) I. UK HISTORY. The adult of this thrips i- a -mall, active insect aboul one twenty- fourth of an inch in lengt h and dark brown in color, with the tip of the decidedly lighter. The appearance of this insect is sufficiently illustrated in figure 1 to render a more detailed description unneces- sary. Tin- insect feeds on the foliage of the plant attacked and removes all the coloring matter, leaving the leaf white and. in severe cases of attack, dead. During this period the female deposits her eggs (fig. '_'. a within the leaf tissue and these hatch in the greenhouse in about eight day-. The larva which hatches from the egg is a minute white insecl <>( the shape indicated in figure _', 6 and c. During 1 his period, which requires from in to 20 days, varying with the tempera- ture, the larva' feed together in colonies on t he surface of t he leaf and remove i ho coloring matter in the same manner as do the adults. While ged in feeding, the larva exudes a large drop of reddish Quid from ' Fora fuller technlc il treatment of this insect sec "The Greenhouse Thrips," Bnl. 64, Pt. VI, Bur. Km., V. S. Dept. Apr. r-Cir. 151 — 12 I 2 THE GREENHOUSE THKIPS. the anal end of the body, and when this becomes too heavy it drops to the leaf surface and dries into a black dot. Where the insects are numerous these exudations produce a marked discoloration of the foliage. Upon becoming full grown the larvae change to the resting stages — prepupa and pupa (see fig. 3) — during which time they remain more or less motionless among the feeding young and take no food. These stages require periods of about four to six days, after which the adults emerge. Figure 5 shows a colony of pupse on a leaf of croton. The total time required for this insect from the time the Fig. 1. — Greenhouse thrips I Heliothrips hxmorrhoidalisy. Adult female, enlarged about 50 diam- eters, and greatly enlarged drawing of antenna underneath. (.Author's illustration.) egg is laid until the adult emerges ready to reproduce" its kind is from 20 to 33 days, and as this insect continues active in the greenhouse the entire year many generations occur each year. OEIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION. Although this insect was first described from Europe and is there widely distributed, it is without doubt indigenous to tropical America. Tt lias been recorded in the open in St. Vincent and Bar- bados. This insect has been collected at Miami. Fla., on plants in the open in midwinter. At Stmt a Barbara, CaL, it caused consid- erable damage to ornamentals in one of the parks in November. rip larva, first stage; c, larva, full grown. All enlarged about 40 diameters. (Author's illustration.) THE < . K I I ffHOUS] I II KIPS. 3 These records of occurrences at several localities in the Tropical and Lower Austral life zones of this country point strongly to tropical America as ii- original home. This i^ further strengthened because of its well-known babil of living in greenhouses, in many localities, upon exotic plant-- from the Tropics. From this habil it bas become widely dis- tributed in Europe and North America. 1 ii Europe il i- recorded from England, Germany, Austria, Russia, Finland, France, Spain, and Italy. Jt is also known to occur in Australia and the I law aiian Islands. In this country it is recorded from Massachusetts, from several places in Michigan, and from Washington, D. ('.. Florida, and California. It bas been col- lected in Iowa and Pennsylvania and in the Barbados and the island of St. Vin- cent, British Wesl Indie-. Because of the fad that it bas been col- lected in such widely distanl places in all sections of thecounl r\ , we can safely saj that Helioihripsha morrhoidalis is generally distributed in greenhouses throughout the United Mate-. \ Vinti: AND EXTENT OF IX.UKY. Tin 1 damage caused by the greenhouse thrips to ornamental plants i- confined to the foliage entirely. in SO far a- I he aul hor is aw are, for he knOWS of QO recorded injury to the blossoms of theplantsnorhashe noticed any. The damage to fruits i- divided between injury to the foliage and t o the fruit itself. In- jury effected by the thrips is due to the method of feeding on the plants. Both adults and larvae obtain their food by puncturing the epidermis of the leaf or fruit w ith their sharp moul bparts, 1 and after lacerat big the tissue they suck out the vege- table matter ami plant juice- :i i the point of attack. The inseel then at tack- t he leaf or fruit in a new place, 50 that in time it becomes full of tiny pale -put- where the vegetable matter has been exl ract ed. > 1 Dr structure of mouthpaii Thrips," by Dudley Moultoti, Bui. 08, Pari I, Bur. Ent., V. 8. I 1 . 1907. eenhouse thri|>s: Prepupa on the left and pupa on the right. Enlarged about 40 >li- amcters. (Author's illustration.) THE GREENHOUSE THRIPS. In the case of infested plants, injury is noticed first to the older leaves and gradually, as these become badly infested, the injury FlG. 4.— Portion of leaf of crolou magnified to show pupa- of greenhouse thrips. (' » Iginal. I spreads until the young leaves are attacked, soon after unfolding. The infested leaves first show injury on the underside, where the GR] ENH0US1 I BRIPS. epidermis appears full of minute white spots. As attack continues the spots become more numerous and unite, forming blotches where the leaf is damaged. Figures I and 5 shows leaves of croton badly /.' ^^p*^^-<i SE I HRTPS. around the edges of the leaf. In severe attacks the insects -prcad 1o the upper surface of the leaves, and in a shorl time this as well as the underside is nearly devoid of color. Both side- become thickly covered \\ ith minute drops of reddish fluid voided by the thrips, which gradually change to black. As the attack con- tinues, the leaves become limp and yellow and event ually drop off, so that the plants that are not treated to prevent injury ill many cases lose their entire foli- age. Figure 6 show- normal croton and figure 7 croton to- tally defoliated by the adults of this insect. This inseel injures plants in tw w ays: Firsl , a serious drain on the v itality of the plant is produced by the feeding of thou- sands of thrips, mp that the grow th is seriously checked and in neglected cases causes the death of the plant. Second, it destroys the beauty of the plants for ornament by event- ually despoiling them of I heir foliage. I n southern Florida thisinseel attacks the mango and alligator pear and causes greal injury \>y feeding on the foliage and it may also cause injury by feed- ing on the young I'm it and scar- ring it to a large extent. At Santa Barbara, Cal., this inseel occasionally becomes so abundant on orange t rees as to ruin the fruit and cause the en- tire foliage to drop. Theguava indusl ry t here has also suffered se\ erely from this inseel . Fig. 7.— Croton plant totally defoliated by ihcRrecn- bington, D.i , , 1912. Inal.) b THE GREENHOUSE THRIPS. FOOD PLANTS. The greenhouse thrips feeds on a large number of ornamental plants. In tins country it has been recorded as feeding on liliaceous plants, azalea, PeUea liastata, aspidium, croton, dahlia, phlox, ver- bena, pink, ferns, vines, cherry laurel (Prunus caroliniana) , laures- tina, palms, Ficus, and fuchsia. In California it has been found on raspberry, guava (Psidium guajava), and orange. Tins thrips damages the mango {Mangifera indica), alligator pear (Persea gra- tissima), and maple in Florida, and has been recorded from St. Vin- cent and the Barbados on cacao (Theobroma cacao), kola, and the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) . In Europe this thrips has been recorded as preying upon serides, azalea, begonia, camarotes, cattleya, crinums, dendrobium, eucharis, Ficus, grape, lselia, lefortia, marcintacia, pancratium, phalenopsis, banana, and viburnum. In Australia it is recorded as occurring on different species of eucalyptus. REMEDIES. For the treatment of tins pest there are a number of good remedies. The question as to the best method to employ depends upon the size of the greenhouse infested and upon the experience of the person engaged in treating the insect. Fumigation with nicotine papers. — Any of the standard fumigating papers will give good results against tins pest if they are strictly fresh and kept tightly sealed. Fumigation should be done at night in a moist atmosphere, and the papers should be used at the rate of about 2 sheets for eveiy 1,000 cubic feet of space. Early in the morning the house should be opened and thoroughly aired. Fumigation with nicotine liquid extracts. — Liquid extracts of nico- tine offer one df the best methods of greenhouse fumigation and against tins pest are very successful. Those made up of 40 per cent nicotine should be used at the rate of 1 ounce to eveiy 1,000 cubic feet of space and the weaker solutions at greater strengths. The preparation should be evaporated over small lamps or stoves, and to prevent scorching should be diluted with water, approximately two-thirds. Fumigation should he carried on at night in a moist atmosphere, and the greenhouse should remain closed all night. Fumigation with hydrocyanic-acid gas. 1 — When fumigating with hydrocyanic-acid gas great care should he taken, as this gas is fatal to all animal life. The work must he conducted at night, and the plants should have dry foliage. In treating this insect, use from 0.01 to 0.05 gram of potassium cyanid per cubic foot for from two hours to all night, the strength and length of exposure varying according to the tightness of the house and the kind of plants that are being 1 For complete directions for the use of hydrocyanic-acid gas, see Cirs. 37 and 57, Bur. Ent., U.S. Dept. Agr. l in: GRE1 N KOUS] THRIPS. 9 treated, as there is considerable difference between various plants in their resisting power to this gas. Spraying with nicotim liquids. -Nicotine extracts diluted with water, if carefully applied to plants, will kill large numbers of the greenhouse thrips, bul thegreal objection is thai many of the in are not hit by the spray, and therefore the plants become reinfe ted in a short time. Spraying with kerosem emulsion? It is quite possible that kerosene- emulsion -ptay will be effective against the greenhouse thrips when used at the strength of 1 part of stock to 10 pan- of water, and it costs considerably less and is more readily obtained than the nicotine preparations. It should be very carefully prepared and used experi- mentally at first until the effect on the foliage of the different plants is noted. ( 'are should also be taken to prevent quantities of emulsion from collecting around the roots. Water spray. Frequent treatment with a still' spray of water from a garden hose or syringe will tend to keep tins insed down, bul unless there are only a few plant- it would he better to use one of the other remedies. Any treatment For this insect should be repeated in from 7 to 10 day- to destroy the young larvie that have hatched from the e<_r'_ r -. This should be sufficient, but it may be besl to give a third treatmenl in another w cek or two. Treatment of trees in th open. — In the case of injury to the various subtropical fruits it is recommended to spray the foliage thoroughly with a nicotine spray. A tobacco extract of 2\ per cent of nicotine sulphate, diluted at the rate of 1 part to (it) parts in a 6 per cent distillate-oil emulsion, bas given such good results againsl the pear thrips that this treatment should be tried. 2 Approved : .1 wii - Wilson, Seen tary of . igricultun . \\ ashing roN, D. ( '.. April 19, 191 .'. i For the method of making emulsioi Bulletin 127, or Cir. 80, Bur. Ent.,TJ.S. Dept. \-.t. > Full directions for mixing this spray are given in Cir. 131, Bur. Km.. I*. .-. Dept. \ ADDITIONAL COPIES ofthls public -tV. may be procured Irom th ent of Doci u ' nting Washington, D. C. . at 5 cents per copy UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 'ini nun 3 1262 09216 6114