Status and Distribution of Montandoniola moraguesi (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) in the Continental United States
Abstract
The exotic anthocorid Montandoniola moraguesi (Puton) was intentionally introduced in Hawaii and Bermuda for the control of thrips on outdoor plantings of ornamental Ficus. These successful programs resulted in similar efforts to introduce this predator at several locations within the continental United States. Such attempts to establish the bug as a component of biological control systems aimed at pest thrips apparently have been unsuccessful. Our surveys and requests for museum records revealed detections of M. moraguesi in four states: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Circumstances surrounding detections in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi suggest that viable populations may not currently exist in those states. M. moraguesi occurs widely throughout peninsular Florida, wherever outdoor plantings of exotic, ornamental Ficus spp. are found. An updated distribution of M. moraguesi is provided along with field observations and new thrips host records.View this article in BioOne
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