Influence of weedy field margins on abundance patterns of the predatory bugs Orius spp. and their prey, the western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), on faba bean

• Published in: Phytoparasitica 2010-09, Vol.38 (4), p.313-325
• Main Author: Atakan, Ekrem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture; alternative hosts; Anthocoridae; Beans; biological control; biological control agents; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Ecology; faba beans; Flowers; Frankliniella occidentalis; Hemiptera; Insect control; insect pests; Insects; Lamium amplexicaule; Life Sciences; Lolium; Lolium amplexicaule; Orius; Plant Pathology; plant pests; Plant Sciences; Pollen; population density; Predation; Predators; Prey; seasonal variation; Sinapis arvensis; species diversity; Thripidae; Thysanoptera; Vicia faba; Weed control; Weeds
• ISSN: 0334-2123; 1876-7184
• DOI: 10.1007/s12600-010-0105-9

The influence of weedy field strips on the abundance patterns of western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), and predatory bugs of Orius spp. (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae), on faba bean and on weeds was investigated in Adana province, Turkey, during 2005–2006. There were two treatments: in one treatment, weeds at the margins and inside the plots were regularly controlled by tillage; in the other treatment no weed control was done. Thrips and Orius were sampled by beating faba bean plants and weeds. Orius niger (Wolff) was the most abundant predatory insect species in faba bean and flowering weeds, with numbers of adults and nymphs significantly greater in plots with weedy margins than in weed-free plots. Flowering weeds did not contribute to the abundance of F. occidentalis on faba bean. Abundance of adults of Orius spp. did not coincide with the abundance of F. occidentalis on faba bean or weeds. There were significant negative associations for numbers of Orius spp. among faba bean and the weed species Lamium amplexicaule L. or Sinapis arvensis L. ( P