Redbanded thrips

Selenothrips rubrocinctus (Giard) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)

Orientation to pest

Redbanded thrips, Selenothrips rubocinctus (Giard), is an invasive polyphagous tropical thrips of Asian origin found in Hawaii, Florida, and Puerto Rico. A sucking/rasping insect, its damage is similar in some regards to that of mite damage on foliage, consisting of a mixture of discolored areas and the dark areas that result from the liquid deposited where eggs are inserted in plant tissues. Affected leaves may be distorted or may drop from plant. Dense thrips populations may defoliate plants. Thrips also produce honeydew, which leads to growth of sooty molds.

Hosts commonly attacked

Hosts of redbanded thrips include various fruits (cashew, grape, mango, avocado, guava), ornamentals and shade trees.

Distribution

Redbanded thrips is found in Hawaii, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

Images of redbanded thrips

Lyle Buss, University of Florida, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Lyle Buss, University of Florida, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	James L. Castner, University of Florida 500x327	Scot Nelson, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024
Figure 1. Adult of redbanded thrips, Selenothrips rubocinctus	Figure 2. Pupae of redbanded thrips	Figure 3. Damage of redbanded thrips	Figure 4. Damage of redbanded thrips on mango

Important biological control agents related to this pest species

Goetheana shakespearei Girault is a self-introduced eulophid parasitoid of redbanded thrips found in Florida since 1992, originally detected in a greenhouse. The same parasitoid under the name Dasyscapus parvipennis was shipped from Trinidad to Puerto Rico in the 1930s and established. In Australia, a weaver ant is cited as of importance, while in South Africa, a species of predatory bug (Orius thripoborus [Hesse]) has been noted as a predator of this thrips.

Web links for information on redbanded thrips

• DPI Entomology Circular No. 10 | University of Florida IFAS Extension
• Agnote No. 144 | Berrimah Agricultural Research Center

Articles

• Dennill, G. B. 1992. Orius thripoborus (Anthocoridae), a potential biocontrol agent of Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis and Selenothrips rubrocinctus (Thripidae) on avocado fruits in the eastern Transvaal. Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa 55(2): 255-258.
• Bennett, F. D., H. A. Glenn, and R. M. Baranowski. 1993. Goetheana shakespearei (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) an immigrant parasitoid of thrips in Florida and Guadeloupe. Florida Entomologist 76: 395-397.
• Peng, R. K. and K. Christian. 2004 The weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), an effective biological control agent of the red-banded thrips, Selenothrips rubrocinctus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in mango crops in the Northern Territory of Australia. International Journal of Pest Management 50(2): 107-114.