This study highlights the morphological differences between two groups of plants; those that
are recorded as hosts of the thrips Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis (Bouché) and those that
remain free from infestation. Scanning electron microscope techniques were used to
describe the morphology of the leaf surface of 19 species in order to help identify which
morphological features could play a role in the selection of plant species by thrips from
among a diverse botanical collection. H. haemorrhoidalis had a preference for species with …

A wide range of plant species are susceptible to invasive thrips, such as Heliothrips
haemorrhoidalis (Bouché)(Thysanoptera: Thripidae)(Fig. 1A), but the factors that influence
the host selection behaviour of these insects are not well studied. H. haemorrhoidalis is
often documented as causing widespread damage to economically important plantation
crops such as avocado (Goodall et al., 1987; Dennill & Erasmus, 1992) and citrus (Holt,
1989) but in Britain it tends to be confined to interior plantscapes and protected ornamentals …