Pest Identification Guide: Tobacco Thrips Frankliniella fusca (Hinds)

The following Pest Identification Guides are intended for a wide audience. These fact sheets were created to help growers and crop consultants in industry, private homeowners, Master Gardeners, and the general public identify common arthropod pests and the damage they inflict. Each field guide provides photos of the important life stages and crop damage associated with these arthropod pests. The text highlights the pests' key general morphology and biology, distribution, and natural enemies (parasitoids and predators). Students, faculty in academia, and Extension agents may also find these guides very useful tools.

The Tospovirus (family Bunyaviridae) genus of viruses causes diseases of significant economic impact in many crops worldwide. Tospoviruses have the ability to swap whole segments of their genome with other members of the genus, creating new virus isolates with different vectors and modified host ranges, both of which can result in new diseases. Presently, there are eight recognized species belonging to this genus, of which five have been previously reported in the United States (i.e., TCSV, TSWV, GRSV, INSV, and Iris yellow spot virus [IYSV]). Of these, all but IYSV have been previously reported in the state of Florida. More information about tospoviruses can be found in Tospoviruses (Family Bunyaviridae, Genus Tospovirus) (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pp134). -- from PP306, Tomato Chlorotic Spot Virus

The Department of Entomology and Nematology maintains tripartite priorities consistent with the mandate given to full-service landgrant universities and associated experiment stations: Research, Extension, and Academics. These programs are facilitated with state funding, extramural contract and grant funding, donations and gifts, and the collaborative efforts of cooperating agencies and institutions. The Department has coordinated faculty efforts and strengths into what could be considered major thrust areas for the Department. These areas of emphasis include: Behavior, Ecology, and Systematics; Biological Control; Medical, Veterinary and Urban Entomology; Nematology; Pest Management; and Physiology, Biochemistry, and Genetics.