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The Western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis, an important greenhouse pest, has acquired rapid resistance to the chemical pesticides. Therefore, biological control is worth consideration as an alternative control method. Among the biological control agents, entomopathogenic fungi showed to be quite successful in some occasions. In this study, three Iranian isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae (‘DEMI001’, ‘DEMI002’ and ‘DEMI003’) were bioassayed for their lethal effects on the adults of the F. occidentalis, in vitro. The ‘DEMI002’ and ‘DEMI003’ had the lowest and highest LC₅₀ at concentrations of 3.06 ´ 10⁴ and 1.90 ´ 10⁵ conidia/ml, respectively. Also, the isolate ‘DEMI002’ had the lowest LT₅₀ of 4.39 ± 2.13 days at the concentration of 10⁶ conidia/ml. The mean comparison showed that there was a significant difference between DEMI002 and DEMI003 in terms of virulence at most of the concentrations. Consequently, the ‘DEMI002’ can be considered as a promising tool in biological control programs of the F. occidentalis.

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The New World insect species Frankliniella minuta (Moulton, 1907) is reported from Asia for the first time. This is a member of the Order Thysanoptera and is placed in the subfamily Thripinae of the Thripidae. A total of 45 female and 14 male adults were found on Tridax procumbens (Asteraceae) at the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) in Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia. Both sexes were taken from the capitula of T. procumbens. The potential threat of this species to the horticultural industry is inconclusive, but the discovery will alert horticulturalists and quarantine entomologists to possible invasion pathways. Diagnostic characters, relevant figures and a key to Frankliniella species in Malaysia are provided.

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The present research aimed to study the insecticidal activity of four ethanolic extracts of Cercis siliquastrum L., Calendula officinalis L., Peganum harmala L., Melia azedarach L. against Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) as well as hatching time and hatching rate of Orius horvathi (Reuter). The results revealed that the extracts had no significant effect on the hatching time of the predatory bug. The result showed concomitant use of the extracts with releasing eggs of the O. horvathi could control thrips effectively. The lowest (73.66 ± 7.01%) hatching rate belonged to P. harmala, indicating concomitant use of P. harmala extract with releasing eggs of O. horvathi can cause effective control of adult thrips. Moreover, concomitant use of C. siliquastrum, C. officinalis extracts with releasing eggs of O. horvathi can control immature thrips effectively.