In this section:
Screening System
To determine which native plant species provide a better alternative to weeds we are also developing a regionally-transferable lab-based screening system to predict low-risk plants for revegetation that have foliage that won’t support breeding of western flower thrips (WFT).
A culture of WFT was developed under a controlled temperature and light regime. Thrips were reared on cucumbers, pollen and honey in semi-transparent décor boxes with silk ‘windows’ that produced approximately 2,000 adult WFT/week. The optimum number of WFT adults to add to host plant trial arenas for consistent and manageable larval emergence counts was determined. Suitable native plants that have consistently recorded low pest numbers in field samples were selected.
Leaves were presented in small agar based arenas that were designed to test WFT ovipositing and subsequent larval emergence using capsicums (var Raptor) for comparison. A total of nine replicates for each plant species were conducted in the first phase of the trial. Sixteen native plants were tested. Eight species, from the families Myrtaceae (2), Cheneopodiaceae (2), Mimosaceae (2), Rutaceae (1) and Myoporaceae (1) supported less WFT reproduction than control capsicum plants.
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| Saltbush leaves in agar-based arena | WFT Culture |
Find out more about
The project
Benefits of revegetation
Abundance and diversity of natural enemies
Wasps with potential for biological control
Useful publications
Revegetation for Pest Management - 2008 Presentation (PDF)
