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Abstract
In 1975, Illinois experienced an exceptionally mild winter, followed by a warm spring. This sequence of climatic events resulted in a massive outbreak of the soybean thrips,
Sericothrips variabilis (Beach), along with large numbers of the flower thrips,
Frankliniella tritici (Fitch). The outbreak covered an area of over 600 thousand hectares (1.5 million acres) of soybean and was particularly heavy in the southern third of the state. In areas where thrips densities were particularly high early in the season, entire fields of young soybean seedlings began to die, causing panic within the farming community. In their attempts to resolve the situation, growers applied large quantities of pesticides to over 20,200 hectares (50,000 acres) during the first week after the crop had begun to emerge.
Parent Publication
Citation
Irwin, Michael E. 1991. Agroecological niches and thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) dynamics. Parker, Bruce. L.; Skinner, Margaret; Lewis, Trevor, eds. Towards Understanding Thysanoptera. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-147. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station: 133-147.
