By CAAHP Commercial Horticulture Educator, Jingjing Yin
(photo from Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida)
Chilli thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis), an invasive species, were first found in Florida in 2005, attacking roses and foliage plants. Then they were found to make damages on terminal leaves of hydrangeas in both greenhouses and landscape in NY.
Chilli thrips create damaging feeding scars, distortions of leaves, and discolorations of buds, flowers and young fruits by feeding on the meristems of the host plant’s terminals and on other tender parts above the soil surface. Their characteristic scarring looks similar to broad mite damage or chemical injury on landscape hydrangeas.
For more information: http://www.egroblog.com/showblog.php?ID=180 and https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/thrips/chilli_thrips.htm
Contact Jingjing Yin, Commercial Horticulture Educator at
(518)429-8608 or email jy578@cornell.edu.
