Thrips (Thysanoptera) species occurring in Winter vegetable crops in Çukurova region of Turkey

Thrips (Thysanoptera) and their predators were investigated from 2005–2007 on a wide range of vegetables grown mostly in the winter period in Çukurova region of Turkey. A total of 2989 adult thrips and 406 thrips larvae were extracted from the vegetables. The adults belonged to 14 thrips species of which Melanthrips spp. were the most dominant species. The dominance of the commonly found pests Thrips tabaci and Frankliniella occidentalis differed greatly. F. occidentalis was the predominant thrips infesting broad bean, lettuce and parsley, while T. tabaci was more abundant on leek, onion and pea. The most thrips were collected from flowers or heads of vegetables in early spring. Numbers of predatory insects dwelling on the sampled vegetables were lower in comparison to total numbers of thrips obtained in the years 2006 and 2007. Of the predators, the hemipteran generalists Orius laevigatus and O. niger were the most prevalent and high numbers of them were recorded often on flowers of broad bean in winter. Further investigations should be planned to understand clearly the predatory habit of Melanthrips