Thrips and their Natural Enemies in different Ornamental Plants of Himachal Pradesh

During a survey conducted in different ornamentals under mid-hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh, twenty six species of thrips viz. Thrips spp. (two different species), T. tabaci Lindeman, T. flavus Schrank, T. flavidulus Bagnall, T. carthami Shumsher Singh, T. palmi Karny, T. kodaikanalensis Ananthakrishnan and Jagadish, T. simplex Morison, T. hawaiiensis Morgan, T. setosus Moulton, T. andrewsi Bagnall, T. florum Schmutz, T. himalyanus Pelikan, Taeniothrips sp., Microcephalothrips abdominalis Crawford DL, Frankliniella sulphurea Trybom, Neohydatothrips samayankur Kudo, Megalurothrips sp., Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood, Scolothrips sexmaculatus Pergande, Aeolothrips spp. and A. indicus Bhatti, Haplothrips? tenuipennis, Haplothrips tenuipennis Bagnall and H.clarisetis Priesner were reported. Out of these, Thrips tabaci and Thrips flavus dominated all species by contributing 10 and 18.33 per cent, respectively. Among natural enemies Orius sp., Coccinella septempunctata, Hipodamia variegata, Oenopia Kirby, Amblysieus sp, Euseius sp and spiders (unidentified) were found. The results of this study update the list of thrips and their associated natural enemies in the state. It paves new ways for the researchers for future studies on the thrips and their impact as the vectors of diseases and assessment of predatory potential of different predatory species of thrips and natural enemies can be exploited for the management of pest species.