Latest Resistance management for sustainable agriculture and improved public health

Western flower thrips

Frankliniella occidentalis

Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) originated in western North America and has since become a major pest of vegetables, fruit and ornamental crops across the US and around the world. F. occidentalis are small (1-2 mm long), slender, soft-bodied insects that are yellow to light brown in color; adults have distinctive fringed wings. It can develop quickly, going from egg to adult in two weeks or less at favorable temperatures. Adult females insert eggs into plant tissue under the epidermis. When mature, larvae drop to the soil to go through the prepupal and pupal stages, and finally return to the plants as adults. Larvae and adults feed on flowers, buds, terminals, leaves, and fruit.

Frankliniella occidentalis feed by rasping open plant cells and sucking up the cell contents. The damaged cells collapse, leaving bronzed or russeted areas on the leaves or fruits. Besides the direct plant damage this pest causes, F. occidentalis also transmits several species of destructive plant viruses in the genus Tospovirus (Bunyaviridae), including Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) and Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV), of which it is the most important vector worldwide.

Adults can move long distances on air currents to find new food; adults and larvae can also be transported on transplants. Although there are some effective natural enemies of F. occidentalis, growers rely on chemical control to reduce damaging populations of this pest. Natural enemies such as predatory bugs (Orius spp.), lacewings (Chrysoperla spp.) and predatory mites (Amblyseius spp., Neoseiulus spp.) can provide significant control of F. occidentalis populations. The number of effective chemical compounds that control F. occidentalis is very limited and insecticide resistance has been reported to several major classes of insecticides.

Western flower thrips resistance profile

Species Distribution Chemical class Mechanisms
Frankliniella occidentalis Europe, Africa, North America Carbamates (1A) Metabolic: Enhanced detoxification by monooxygenases
Frankliniella occidentalis Europe, Africa, Australia, North America Organophosphates (1B) Metabolic: Enhanced detoxification by monooxygenases
Frankliniella occidentalis Europe, Africa, USA Cyclodiene organochlorines (2A) Metabolic
Frankliniella occidentalis Australia Phenylpyrazoles (Fiproles) (2B) Metabolic
Frankliniella occidentalis Europe, Australia, USA Pyrethroids-Pyrethrins (3A) MetabMetabolic: Enhanced detoxification by monooxygenases. Also, linked to target site resistance (kdr)
Frankliniella occidentalis China, Spain Neonicotinoids (4A) Cytochrome P450 detoxification
Frankliniella occidentalis Australia, Brazil, China, Spain, USA Spinosyns (5) Altered target site resistance: G275E mutation in the α6 subunit of nAChR
Frankliniella occidentalis China, USA Avermectins (6)
Frankliniella occidentalis China Pyriproxyfen (7C)

Key western flower thrips resources

References

Title Year Author(s) Publisher
Field resistance to spinosad in western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) vol. 15 (12) pp. 2803-08. DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(16)61478-8 2016 Li D, Shang X, Reitz S, Nauen R, Lei Z, Lee SH, Gao Y Journal of Integrative Agriculture
Field-evolved resistance to insecticides in the invasive western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) in China Vol. 72 (7) pp.1440-1444, DOI: 10.1002/ps.4200 2016 Wang ZH, Gong YJ, Jin GH, Li BY, Chen JC, Kang ZJ, Zhu L, Gao YL, Reitz S, Wei SJ Pest Management Science
Esterase inhibition by synergists in the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis Vol. 67 (12), pp. 1549-1556. DOI: 10.1002/ps.2211 2011 López-Soler N, Cervera A, Quinto V, Abellán J, Bielza P, Martínez-Pardo R Pest Management Science
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Identification of Chlorogenic Acid as a Resistance Factor for Thrips in Chrysanthemum Vol. 150 (3), pp. 1567-1575. DOI: Published July 2009. DOI: 10.1104/pp.109.138131 2009 Leiss KA, Maltese F, Choi YH, Verpoorte R, Klinkhamer PGL Plant Physiology
Insecticide resistance management strategies against the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis Vol. 64(11):1131-8. doi: 10.1002/ps.1620 2008 Bielza P Pest Management Science
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Esterase isoenzymes and insecticide resistance in Frankliniella occidentalis populations from the south-east region of Spain. Vol. 64 (12), 1258-66. doi: 10.1002/ps.1627. 2008 López-Soler N, Cervera A, Moores GD, Martínez-Pardo R, Garcerá MD Pest Management Science
Pyrethroid resistance in Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) and implications for its management in Australia Vol. 47 (1), pp. 64-69, DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-6055.2007.00628.x 2008 Thalavaisundaram S, Herron GA, Clift AD, Rose H Australian Journal of Entomology
Lack of fitness costs of insecticide resistance in the western flower thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Vol. 101 (2), pp. 499-503 2008 Bielza P, Quinto V, Grávalos C, Abellán J, Fernández E Journal of Economic Entomology
Stability of spinosad resistance in Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) under laboratory conditions Vol. 98 (4), pp. 355-359. DOI: 10.1017/S0007485308005658 2008 Bielza P, Quinto V, Grávalos C, Fernández E Bulletin of Entomological Research
Insecticide resistance in Frankliniella occidentalis: Corroboration of laboratory assays with field data and cross-resistance in a cypermethrin-resistant strain Vol. 36 (4), pp. 352-359 2008 Dağlı F, Tunç I Phytoparasitica
Synergism studies with binary mixtures of pyrethroid, carbamate and organophosphate insecticides on Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) Vol. 63(1):84-9 2007 Bielza P, Espinosa PJ, Quinto V, Abellán J, Contreras J Pest Management Science
Resistance to spinosad in the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), in greenhouses of south-eastern Spain Vol. 63(7):682-7 2007 Bielza P, Quinto V, Contreras J, Torné M, Martin A, Espinosa PJ Pest Management Science
Genetics of spinosad resistance in Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Vol. 100(3):916-20 2007 Bielza P, Quinto V, Fernández E, Grávalos C, Contreras J Journal of Economic Entomology
Life history of western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysan., Thripae), on five different vegetable leaves Vol. 131(5) pp. 347-354, DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0418.2007.01186.x 2007 Zhang Z-J, Wu Q-J, Li X-F, Zhang Y-J, Xu G-R Journal Of Applied Entomology
A Dalpha6 knockout strain of Drosophila melanogaster confers a high level of resistance to spinosad Vol. 37 (2), pp.184-188, DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2006.11.009 2007 Perry T, McKenzie JA, Batterham P Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Rapid visual estimates of thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) densities on cucumber and rose crops. Vol. 100 (1), pp. 225-232 2007 Boll R, Marchal C, Poncet C, Lapchin L Journal of Economic Entomology
Insecticide resistance in Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) collected from horticulture and cotton in Turkey Vol. 46 (4), pp. 320-324. DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-6055.2007.00593.x 2007 Tunç I, Dağlı F Australian Journal of Entomology
Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) chemical control: insecticide efficacy associated with the three consecutive spray strategy Vol. 46 (2), pp. 140-145. DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-6055.2007.00568.x 2007 Broughton S, Herron GA Australian Journal of Entomology
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Thrips Resistance in Pepper and Its Consequences for the Acquisition and Inoculation of Tomato spotted wilt virus by the Western Flower Thrips. Vol. 93 (1), pp. 96-101. DOI: 10.1094/PHYTO.2003.93.1.96 2003 Maris PC, Joosten NN, Peters D, Goldbach RW Phytopathology
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High Nucleotide Diversity in the para-Like Voltage-Sensitive Sodium Channel Gene Sequence in the Western Flower Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Vol. 95(4), pp. 838-848. DOI: 10.1603/0022-0493-95.4.838 2001 Forcioli D, Frey B, Frey JE Journal of Economic Entomology
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Sucking Pests MoA Poster
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The information provided is based on literature reviews and as such IRAC cannot guarantee or be held accountable for the accuracy of the reports.

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