DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2fqz612z1
title: Biological control of Echinothrips americanus Morgan (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in sweet pepper using the predatory thrips Franklinothrips vespiformis Crawford (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae)

description: Echinothrips americanus Morgan (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), also known as
 poinsettia thrips, has invaded several parts of the world becoming an
 important pest in many vegetable and ornamental crops. While biological
 control methods using predatory mites and bugs have been effective against
 flower-dwelling thrips, they have shown limited success against
 leaf-dwelling thrips like E. americanus. Franklinothrips vespiformis
 Crawford (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae) is a leaf-dwelling predatory
 thrips, that may offer a more effective solution due to its overlapping
 habitat with E. americanus which increases the likelihood of predator-prey
 interactions. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of F. vespiformis
 for controlling E. americanus populations in sweet peppers under
 greenhouse conditions. We also investigated whether supplementing the
 releases of the predator with Artemia franciscana Kellogg (Branchiopoda:
 Artemiidae) cysts would enhance the pest control efficacy of F.
 vespiformis. Our results showed a 93% decrease in the total E. americanus
 population with releases of F. vespiformis alone and a 98% decrease when
 the releases of F. vespiformis were supplemented with A. franciscana
 cysts, both of which were statistically significant compared to the
 control treatment. There was no significant difference between the two F.
 vespiformis treatments. Similarly, the abundance of both adults and
 immature stages of E. americanus was significantly reduced in the presence
 of F. vespiformis, regardless of the addition of supplementary food.
 Overall, these findings highlight the potential of F. vespiformis for the
 biological control of E. americanus and probably other leaf-dwelling thrip
 pests in sweet peppers.
description: Experiment Description
 Conditions: Temperature (°C):
 Average temperature of 17.3 ± 0.04 °C (min 9.1 °C, max 35.0
 °C). Relative Humidity (RH%): Average 68.1 ± 0.14% RH
 (min 22.5%, max 93%). Lighting: Supplemental lighting
 is provided by four high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps (400W), turned on
 from 5 am to 4 pm daily. Cage Dimensions: Cages were
 1.8 m wide, 2.5 m long, and 2 m high, covered with a thrips-proof screen
 net with a double door and zipper entrance. There were two rows, one with
 eight cages and another with four cages. 
 Experimental Setup: Plant
 Species: Eight sweet pepper plants per cage, placed in a 0.5 x 0.5 m grid.
 The plants were 1.45 m high and without flowers.
 Insect Species: <em>E. americanus</em> adults were
 introduced to each cage on October 26. <em>F.
 vespiformis</em> adults were released into certain cages on November
 17 and again on November 24.  
 Treatments: The experimental
 setup involved four treatments with 3 replicate cages per treatment:
 Control: Sweet pepper plants infested with <em>E.
 americanus.</em> <em>F.
 vespiformis</em> only: Cages where 10 adult <em>F.
 vespiformis</em> were released per plant. <em>F.
 vespiformis</em> + <em>A. franciscana</em> cysts: Cages
 where 10 adult <em>F. vespiformis</em> were released per
 plant, plus 0.1 g of <em>A. franciscana</em> cysts.
 <em>A. franciscana</em> cysts only: <em>E.
 americanus</em> was present, and 0.1 g of <em>A.
 franciscana</em> cysts were added per plant.  
 Timeline: October 26, 2022: 10
 <em>E. americanus</em> adults introduced per plant in all
 cages. November 17, 2022: First release of
 <em>F. vespiformis</em> adults. November
 24, 2022: Second release of <em>F. vespiformis</em>
 adults. December 2 and 14, 2022: Additional
 applications of <em>A. franciscana</em> cysts.
 Randomization: The
 experiment followed a randomized complete block design with a total of 12
 cages.
description: # Biological control of *Echinothrips americanus* Morgan (Thysanoptera:
 Thripidae) in sweet pepper using the predatory thrips *Franklinothrips
 vespiformis* Crawford (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae)
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2fqz612z1](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2fqz612z1) ## Description of the data and file structure This dataset was collected during an experiment conducted from October 26th, 2022, to January 3rd, 2023. The goal of the experiment was to assess the impact of different treatments on *E. americanus* adults in a controlled walk-in cage environment with sweet pepper plants (*Capsicum annuum*). ## 3. Data Description This section outlines all data fields and variables in the dataset. Please ensure that each variable is correctly referenced and includes units. ### 3.1 Variables: * **Date**: Date when observations or measurements were taken. * **Tr**: Type of treatment applied to each cage (Control, *Echinothrips americanus* + *Artemia*, *Franklinothrips vespiformis* + *Echinothrips americanus* + *Artemia*, *F. vespiformis* + *E. americanus* * **Rep**: repetition of the treatments * TotEchino: Number of adults and larvae of E. americanus observed at each time point * AdEchino: Number of *E. americanus* adults observed at each time point * LEchino: Number of *E. americanus* larvae observed at each time point * PEchino: Number of *E. americanus* pupae observed at each time point * Lfrankie: Number of *F. vespiformis *larvae observed at each time point * Afrankie: Number of *F. vespiformis *adults observed at each time point * Tfrankie: Number of adults and larvae of *F. vespiformis* observed at each time point * ## Code/software All statistical analyses were carried out in R v.3.5.1. (R Core Team, 2021).