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This article discusses the discovery of three predatory thrips species in the Canary Islands. Thrips are typically herbivores or fungivores, but some species are predators. Previous studies on thrips in the Canary Islands have only identified a few predatory species. The three species identified in this study are Franklinothrips vespiformis, Franklinothrips megalops, and Scolothrips longicornis. The identification of these species was confirmed through morphological and molecular analysis. This finding adds to our knowledge of thrips diversity in the Canary Islands and their potential as biological control agents. However, the presence of these thrips species also raises concerns about their impact on the local fauna. [Extracted from the article]

The chilli thrips Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is an invasive polyphagous pest of several crops, and is native to South and East Asia. In recent decades, this thrips has successfully established in parts of the African and American continents. In the EPPO region its distribution is limited to Israel and Türkiye, and it is considered as under eradication in mainland Spain. This paper presents the first report of S. dorsalis on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), where individuals were initially found infesting mango in 2016, and subsequent inspections revealed infestations in 2022 that allowed its identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anagyrus fusciventris (Girault, 1915) (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae) is recorded for the first time in the Canary Islands (Spain) and the Macaronesian region. One specimen was observed on 2nd May 2020 in the municipality of Candelaria (Tenerife). Samples of Coccoloba uvifera L. (Magnoliopsida, Polygonaceae) infested by Paracoccus burnerae (Brain, 1915) (Hemiptera, Pseudococcidae) were collected from perimeter gardens of the observation point and placed in insect evolutionaries between May and June 2020. One specimen of A. fusciventris was then collected on 12th June 2020. Parasitoid and mealybug were identified using morphological and molecular methods based on the DNA barcode sequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is a pest that causes significant losses to tomato production all over the world. Recently, it has been reported that the eulophid parasitoid, Necremnus tutae Ribes & Bernardo, 2015 (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae), has great potential as a biocontrol agent of this pest. Herein, we obtained and make available the reference DNA barcode sequence of N. tutae. and report on its occurrence in the Canary Islands for the first time. The possible consequences that this new record could have on the biological control of the tomato leaf miner in tomato producing greenhouses in the Canary Islands are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Huanglongbing (HLB) is the most devastating citrus disease and is associated with three bacterial species of the genus 'Candidatus Liberibacter' transmitted by insect vectors. The early detection of HLB is based on PCR methods, and it is one of the cornerstones for preventing incursion into disease-free countries. However, the detection of phytopathogenic bacteria with PCR-based methods is problematic in surveys that include a variety of samples of different origins. Here, we first report the proportion of amplifications obtained by two standardized real-time PCR methods for the diagnosis of HLB in various environmental samples that include plants, psyllid vectors, and parasitic wasps of the psyllids. The results of 4915 samples showed that 9.3% of them were amplified by the first rapid screening test and only 0.3% by the more specific tests. Most of the amplifications were associated with parasitic wasps. We designed the primers external to the target regions of both real-time PCR protocols to determine if amplifications belonged to one of three 'Ca. Liberibacter' species associated with HLB. The bioinformatic analysis of the sequences obtained with these primers revealed that all these amplifications came from the presence of other prokaryotic organisms in the samples. The primers developed in this study overcome the problem of undesired amplification in environmental samples. Thus, they could be used in future survey protocols to prevent the eradication of negative trees and the generation of unjustified alarms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The psyllid fauna of the Canary Islands is reviewed on the basis of recent field work on Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, as well as the examination of material deposited in several collections. Two new genera and 16 new species are described: Drepanoza Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard gen. nov., Percyella Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard gen. nov., Agonoscena atlantica Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., A. sinuata Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., Arytaina meridionalis Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., Cacopsylla crenulatae Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., C. falcicauda Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., Diaphorina gonzalezi Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., Drepanoza canariensis Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., D. fruticulosi Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., D. molinai Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., Euphyllura confusa Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., Percyella benahorita Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., P. canari Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., P. gomerita Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., P. guanche Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov., Strophingia canariensis Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov. and S. paligera Bastin, Burckhardt & Ouvrard sp. nov. Arytaina insularis Loginova, 1976, stat. nov. is elevated from a subspecies of A. devia Loginova, 1976 to species rank. Five new combinations are proposed: Drepanoza fernandesi (Aguiar, 2001) comb. nov., D. lienhardi (Burckhardt, 1981) comb. nov., D. montanetana (Aguiar, 2001) comb. nov., D. pittospori (Aguiar, 2001) comb. nov. and Lauritrioza laurisilvae (Hodkinson, 1990) comb. nov., all transferred from Trioza. The hitherto unknown last-instar immatures are described for Megadicrania tecticeps Loginova, 1976, Cacopsylla atlantica (Loginova, 1976) and Lauritrioza laurisilvae (Hodkinson, 1990). We also report Agonoscena targionii (Lichtenstein, 1874) for the first time from the Canary Islands. Our review increases the number of known psyllid taxa from the Canary Islands to 24 genera and 62 species (one of which remains undescribed). Endemism, host plant relationships and biogeographic patterns are discussed. Keys for the identification of adults and immatures are provided, as well as information on host plants, distribution and predators.