Assessment of Mark/Recapture Methods and Sticky Card Color Considerations for Thrips in Mississippi

Thrips are a major pest of cotton in the United States due to the declining efficacy of neonicotinoid seed treatments. Transgenic Bt cotton has potential to be a tool for managing thrips in the future; however, the potential for thrips populations to become resistant to Bt must be evaluated. Research utilizing sticky card and beat pan sampling along with mark/capture methods is currently being conducted to study thrips movement in a cotton agroecosystem. The preliminary results of this research shows that the attractiveness of thrips to specific sticky cards colors may be dependent upon several factors. Also, beat pan sampling may be a more effective way to collect thrips for mark/capture research. This paper discusses in more detail the findings of preliminary experiments in regards to monitoring thrips movement with sticky cards, beat pans, and mark/capture techniques.