| May 2007. The photos illustrate a pest found associated with hibiscus seedlings in Antigua & Barbuda. Left untreated, affected plants brown and ultimately die. An identification was requested.
1. Immature Tubulifera (right) – Impossible to identify, but based on host and feeding damage could be the hollyhock thrips/hibiscus thrips, Liothrips varicornis Hood: Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae. They feed on stems and leaves of Hibiscus spp., Malva spp., Sida spp., Althea rosea (Hollyhock), Malvastrum fasciculatum, and other plants in the family Malvaceae. Adults and immature forms are quite gregarious on stems, leaves and roots. Known distribution includes Mexico, El Salvador, Texas, Florida and Hawaii.
2. Immature anthocorid bug (left), a common predator most likely feeding on the immature thrips.
Orginal: |
