A simple Method of collecting Thrips and other Insects from Blossom

Extract

During the course of an investigation having as its object the control of Thrips imaginis, Bagnall, a pest of deciduous fruit blossom in Australia, it has been found necessary to make numerous counts of the number of these insects found infesting various flowers. These counts are made for two purposes, the principal one being the determination of the effect of attempted control measures. In addition, counts are taken every day throughout the year for the purpose of following the seasonal fluctuations of the numbers present in the field.

At the beginning of the investigation, flowers were picked, placed in closed cardboard cylinders and taken into the laboratory. Each blossom was then examined separately for thrips, the insects being captured by means of a moistened camel-hair brush, with which they were transferred to a small dish of 70 per cent. alcohol. This method was slow and not particularly dependable, as on hot days when the thrips were active, as soon as a flower was placed on the laboratory bench, numbers of insects would leave it and make off in all directions, even taking to flight.

As a result of the unsatisfactory nature of the procedure described above, an apparatus has now been devised which is saving both in time and patience, and gives reliable results (fig. 1). It consists of a glass cylinder 5 inches in diameter and 10 inches high. The top is closed with a close-fitting lid.