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Adult Thysanoptera occur within plant galls for various reasons and use of the term “gall-thrips” without defining the particular relationship is uninformative and misleading. Apart from inducing a gall, a thrips may be found in a gall as a predator feeding on the galler, as a kleptoparasite feeding on plant cells and usurping the protective space induced by the galler, as a phytophagous inquiline breeding in low numbers in a gall without disturbing the galler, or as a casual visitor seeking protection from desiccation. These various relationships are discussed in the light of how little is known about the phylogenetic relationships amongst the Phlaeothripidae, the thrips family that includes most of the galling thrips species. Host associations amongst thrips, including the galling habit, are largely opportunistic, with few examples of a close relationship between thrips and plants above the level of genus in either group.

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During 2018–2020, several field surveys have been conducted to collect thrips in different parts of India. Five thrips species: Dolichothrips reuteri (Karny), Hydatothrips haschemi Girault, Litotetothrips pasaniae Kurosawa, Mesothrips annamensis Priesner, and Stenchaetothrips bambusicola Mound have been identified as new to Indian subcontinent.

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 Genus and species of Dichromothrips smithi (Zimmermann) (Thripidae: Thripinae) is recorded from Iran, Ilam province for the first time. Specimens of this species have been collected on rangeland plants by beating an unknown plant over a white plate. Diagnostic morphological characters and the geographical distribution of the newly recorded thrips are given.

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Quick and authentic identification of exotic and potentially invasive taxa with capability of causing high economic losses or detriments is essential prerequisite for effective plant quarantine and biological control initiatives. The order Thysanoptera includes several agricultural pest species that, not only because of their minute size but also due to their cryptic behavior, incline to undetected transport through international trade of plants. Identification of thrips, particularly at species level, is pretty demanding and requires expertise in knowledge about Thysanoptera. Moreover, in most cases, identification of larval Thysanoptera to species is impossible without presence of adults. Hence, there is a great desire for a facile, accurate, and highly reliable technique for thrips identification. The present study describes species-specific primers for four pest thrips species, and the use of a multiplex PCR assay to detect and to distinguish between the four target species. Five primers were used to simultaneously amplify a specific region of the mitochondrial DNA and produce species-specific fragments. Results indicated that the primers were capable of detecting these four species and amplifying uniquely sized, species-specific PCR products. Furthermore, using a multiplex PCR assay, the primers maintained specificity and sensitivity, and allowed detection of each of the four species in a single reaction. The stringency of the method was tested using specimens of different developmental stages and consistent results were obtained for all of the examined samples. This method is simple enough to be implemented by non-experts and also can be extended to any organism for which quick and reliable identification is needed.