Twenty two species of Thysanoptera found on 29 species of plants in three counties of Northern Greece are listed. For two thirds of them these are the first records for the region. Four of them: Aeolothrips versicolor Uzel f. similis Priesner, Kakothrips dentatus Knechtel, Stenothrips graminurn Uzel and Thrips fuscipennis Haliday are new for the Greek fauna.

The leaf sheaths of Iris pseudacorus are filled with a mucous substance that provides a suitable microhabitat for populations of Iridothrips iridis to survive independently of changes of water level outside. Although the leaf sheaths remain in water all year, the population of I. iridis breeds continuously. The apterous females move into the sheaths of the young leaves at the beginning of November for overwintering. This process is a significant element in the survival strategy of I. iridis. Iris pseudacorus is an aquatic plant but it can also survive prolonged dry conditions. The populations of I. iridis are strictly associated with I. pseudacorus; they breed in the leaf sheaths and are able to survive under varying environmental conditions for many seasons.

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is spread by Thrips tabaci tabaci nominate subspecies in the field under climatic conditions of Carpathian Basin. The overwintered females harbouring the pathogen proved to be the most important vector in the outbreak of epidemics in the tobacco growing district. Among the numerous host plants, the winter annual and the perennial weeds provide the survival of the pathogen. Infected weeds as Asclepias syriaca, Convolvulus arvensis grown in vineyards far from the tobacco fields and greenhouses indicate the wide spread of TSWV. Chickweed (Stellaria media) being a suitable host both for TSWV and the overwintering T. tabaci specimens constitutes the most dangerous source of epidemics. As a result of the common effect of the application of insecticides in accordance with the monitoring of T. tabaci, the centralized cultivation of the seedlings and the weed-free surroundings of the nurseries, the occurrence of TSWV was reduced to the minimum level in tobacco fields.

The Fabaceae species Lathyrus tuberosus, Vicia species and Coronilla varia, all of which have an extended flowering period, provide the larvae food and shelter long enough for the pea thrips Kakothrips pisivorus to complete its development, and to have two generations yearly. Although flowers of pea cultivars also confer suitable conditions for egg laying, their flowering period is rather short. Therefore, the larvae are forced to move to developing pea pods in damaging numbers, resulting in the development of only one generation yearly on pea. However, specimens of K. pisivorus are able to colonize pea cultivars that have a similar phenology as Lathyrus tuberosus. Here we show that Hungarian pea thrips populations having either one or two generations are genetically identical.

Although Thrips tabaci is a well-known vector of Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) it does not belong to the spreaders of this dangerous pathogen in North America. The possible explanation of the differences in its vector efficiency in Europe and in North America is rooted in the fact that out of the two subspecies of T. tabaci, i.e. T. tabaci tabaci and T. tabaci communis only the specimens of the latter were introduced from Europe into North America. To support our hypothesis we have used a molecular marker that detects intraspecific ribosomal DNA sequence variations between the two subspecies of T. tabaci.

A világon széleskörűen elterjedt, súlyos gazdasági károkat okozó paradicsom bronzfoltosság vírust (Tomato spotted wilt virus, TSWV) kizárólag Thysanoptera fajok képesek terjeszteni. Az öt ismert vektorfaj közül a dohánytripszet (Thrips tabaci Lindeman) több szerző, elsősorban Észak-Amerikában nem tartja a TSWV vektorának. Tekintettel arra, hogy ez a faj a vírus legrégebben ismert terjesztője világszerte, kerestük az eltérő megítélésének okát.

Among the blue, green, fluorescent yellow, red, white and yellow coloured sticky traps the fluorescent yellow caught greatest number of both females and males of the vine trips (Drepanothrips reuteri) followed by yellow. Other colours caught negligible numbers. Fluorescent yellow sticky traps proved to be suitable for the monitoring of the flight activity of the vine thrips during the vegetative season. Both females and males immigrated in high number to the vineyards throughout the vegetation period. Based on trends of catches of the males the species develops presumably threes or four overlapping generations in a year under the climatic conditions of Hungary. The fluorescent yellow sticky traps tested in the present study may offer an usable tool for detection and monitoring of this pest.

Following the survey of the proposed and applied methods the wash-down procedure has been evaluated to collect the pear psylla larvae (Cacopsylla pyri Linnaeus and C. pyri cola Forster) in order to establish their population density. To select the larvae the shoots or flowers should be washed-down by water containing 1% detergent. To concentrate larvae, the detergent solution was strained through filter paper. After that it is possible to count exactly the number of larvae by using dissection microscope. By this way the total number of the developing larvae occurring in the flowers or on the shoots could be established. By the application of this method, it is possible to obtain real data about the absolute population density and its changes, as well as the susceptibility or tolerance of the pear cultivars to pear psylla. The data provided by the wash-down method was compared with the traditional limb beating method.

Ecological background of the dissimilar ways of the spread of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) was investigated in the fields in tobacco stands and in the greenhouses in forced green pepper and tomato cultures, under continental climatic conditions in Hungary.

Eight Hymenopteran parasitoids: Itoplectis alternans (Grav.), Itoplectis maculator (F.), Pimpla spuria Grav., Diadegma apostata (Grav.), D. longicaudata Horst., D. tenuipes (Thoms.), D. holopyga (Thoms.) and Dibrachys cavus (Walk.), and one hyperparasitoid Gelis areator (Panz.) have been reared from the larvae and pupae of the grape moth Lobesia botrana (Denis et Schiffermüller), collected between 1996 and 2003 in two wineyards of southern Romania. Nine host-parasitoid relationships have been recorded, from which seven are new for Romania and the other two new to science. The role played by these parasitoids in the regulation of the host populations is 12.3%. Diadegma longicaudata Horst. is the most important member of this parasitoid complex with a parasitizing ratio of 7.75%. The parasitism of hibernating stages is more important than the summer ones, both in percentage (24.2/8.94%), and in species diversity (6/1). The small number of species and the low values of aestival and hibernal parasitizing are the effect of intensive chemical treatments in these vineyards.

A mezőgazdasagi kozossegek szerveződesenek tanulmanyozasaval remelhetjuk, hogy e kozossegekben az egyensulyt a kornyezetet karosito behatasok nelkul is minel inkabb a hasznos szervezetek javara tolhatjuk el. Ezen belul jelen palyazatban a mezőgazdasagi kozossegek nagy dominanciaval jelentkező vezerfajait, az agrobiontokat vizsgaltuk. Palyazatunkban kulonfele eletmodu es hovatartozasu csoportokban: a pokok, futobogarak, ragadozo tripszek, mehek, talajlako fonalfergek koreben kutattuk az agrobiont fajok okologiai karakteret. A csoportok kulonfele okoszisztema szolgaltatasokat jelenitenek meg: termeszetes ellensegek, pollinatorok, a talajfertilitasban jatszanak szerepet. A palyazat logikaja a pokoknal mar feltart osszefuggesek ervenyessegenek vizsgalata volt a tobbi csoportra nezve, illetve parhuzamosan az agrobiont pokokkal kapcsolatos ismereteink bővitese. A kutatasok soran a fonalfergek kivetelevel sikerult feltarnunk agrobiont fajokat minden vizsgalt csoportban, ily modon sikerult azonositani a jovőbeli celzott kutatasok targyait, illetve ertunk el kezdeti eredmenyeket okologiai karakteruk megismereseben. Az egyes csoportoknal reszletekben menően megallapitottuk ezen okologiai karakterek kulturak kozti es regionalis valtozekonysagat, illetve vizsgaltuk az agrar es termeszetes taxoconozisok kapcsolatat, a koztuk levő hasonlosagokat, kulonbsegeket. | Studying the rules of community assembly in agricultural areas may provide possibilities to favour beneficial organisms and reduce the need for pesticide applications. In the present grant we focused on the dominant key species of agricultural communities, the agrobionts. We studied the identity and the ecological character of agrobionts in different generalist arthropod groups, such as spiders, carabid beetles, predatory thrips, bees and soil living nematodes. These groups provide a set of ecosystem services: pollination, natural enemies and soil fertility. The logic of the grant was to study whether rules that were applicable to agrobiont spiders may also functionin similar ways with agrobionts in the other taxa, plus to add to existing knowledge about agrobiont spiders. According to the pesent research we were able to identify agrobiont species in all but one (Nematodes) taxa, and thus we identified objects for future research, and gained initial data about their ecological character. By studying the individual taxa we were able to give account of the variability of ecological characters across different crops and regions. We could also study the similarities between agricultural and natural taxacoenoses.

The LIFE 02ENV/RO/000461AIR-AWARE project is partly dedicated to research on the flora and invertebrate fauna of downtown Bucharest (Romania). In this area, products of local industrial pollution, heavy metals, SO 2 and powders in suspension exceed standard levels. The pilot zone is represented by two public parks in downtown Bucharest. Thysanopterological samples were collected from the herbaceous layer, on both weeds and ornamentals, following a transect approach. The preliminary results revealed a biodiversity that decreased from the park centres, which suffered the least air pollution, towards the edges of the parks, which were the most polluted. The dominant species was Frankliniella intonsa , which had high values for structural and functional indices, as well as morphological changes in body size, colour and antennae, all due to the air pollution. F. intonsa could be considered to be a very sensitive bioindicator of environmental pollution. Future analysis, however, may reveal whether Bagnalliella yuccae, F. intonsa or Haplothrips niger are more sensitive bioindicators for air pollution.

An overview is given on the thrips fauna from the Polish, Slovak and Romanian part of the Carpathians, a mountain chain in Central Europe. Records on the Thysanoptera of the Carpathians date back to 1902. A total of 205 thrips species have hitherto been recorded from this large part (79,1%) of the Carpathians. Endemics are Aeolothrips verbasci, Hoplothrips absimilis and Oxythrips tatricus. Apterothrips secticornis is the only glacial relict with boreoalpine distribution.

The occurrence and host range of Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) was investigated in Central and Eastern Europe. The relationships among the TSWV, the vector species and weed plants were surveyed.

By the sampling on chickweed ( Stellaria media ) carried out from autumn till the end of spring, the occurrence of the larvae of 12 Thysanoptera species has been established under climatic conditions in Hungary. Only the larvae of T. atratus and T. tabaci were present in this period in relatively high number. Since chickweed is frequently infested by Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) the continuous presence of the larvae of T. tabaci in the whole period is a notable circumstance. This relationship is one of the significant ways of the survival of tomato spotted wilt virus which might be a source of new epidemics.