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Section Symposium

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Integrated Pest Management Strategies to Manage Invasive Species in Specialty Crops

Responding to the establishment of Megalurothrips usitatus in Florida and Guatemala

Tuesday, November 11, 2025
3:55 PM - 4:15 PM Pacific
Location: Oregon Convention Center, Portland Ballroom 254, OCC
Oral Presentation
Megalurothrips usitatus, the twice banded bean thrips, is a pest of leguminous crops native to Asia that became established in Florida in 2020 and Guatemala in 2021. It is present in Mexico, the Caribbean and much of Central America where it significantly impacts production of legumes grown for export and for domestic consumption, as well as bean breeding trials. Responding to a new invasive arthropod pest involves assessing the potential of incorporating competition from established non-pest species and suppression from naturally occurring natural enemies as components of a management strategy. In addition, conventional insecticides and biopesticides must be evaluated as management tools. Surveys of distinct host plants on commercial farms and experiment stations in Guatemala and Florida have revealed very few predators and limited potential for endemic thrips to outcompete M. usitatus. The maximum dose laboratory bioassay developed in Florida has been used with slight modifications in different parts of Guatemala to assess insecticide susceptibility with spinosyns, abamectin, isocycloseram, and in some areas, neonicotinoids, demonstrating efficacy.