First report of Thrips setosus in the United Kingdom
The NPPO of the United Kingdom recently informed the EPPO Secretariat of the first report of Thrips setosus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae – EPPO Alert List) on its territory. In 2016-11-02, the pest was found in a commercial crop of poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) grown in a glasshouse in West Sussex. T. setosus was discovered during inspections targeting another pest (Bemisia tabaci). Thrips were found on the underside of poinsettia leaves. Infested leaves showed scorched marks on the upper side, and coalesced areas of heavy thrips damage on the underside. A leaf sample with several thrips specimens (1 female, 1 male, and 4 larvae) was collected and sent to the laboratory for diagnosis. The identity of the pest was confirmed by using morphological methods on 2016-11-04. In this glasshouse covering approximately 4 ha, half of the site was occupied by poinsettias which were ready to be sold in November/December. One of the glasshouse blocks also contained Cyclamen coum plants. It was noted that some weed hosts, such as Heracleum sphondylium, Lamium purpureum and Urtica dioica were likely to be present in field margins of the agricultural land around the infested glasshouse. The origin of this outbreak is unknown, but it is recalled that T. setosus has been found on several occasions in the Netherlands. No official action was taken but the grower was advised to take measures limiting the spread of T. setosus which included the destruction of heavily infested plants and insecticide applications.
The pest status of Thrips setosus in the United Kingdom is officially declared as: Present (limited).
Sources
NPPO of the United Kingdom (2016-11).