Montandoniola moraguesi Puton

Systematic position: Insecta, Hemimetabola, Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Anthocoridae.

Distribution: Almost cosmopolitan.

Life history: Montandoniola moraguesi is a predator that feeds on about 40 species of gall-forming thrips. The adult predators consume 3-4 adult thrips/day and females lay 12-24 eggs, with part of the egg inserted into leaf tissues. A life cycle requires several weeks, several annual generations are completed and the populations are smallest in summer.

Economic importance: This predator often suppresses the populations of Gynaikothrips ficorum within the galled leaves of Ficus spp. It controls the pest naturally in Egypt and Greece and has successfully been introduced into Bermuda and Hawaii.

Reference

Antonatos, S.A., Barbetaki, A.E., Papadoulis, G.T. and Papafotiou, M. 2015. Seasonal abundance of Gynaikothrips ficorum (Marshal) and its natural enemies on Ficus microcarpa in Greece. Acta Horticulturae 1105: 101-107.

Funasaki, G.Y. 1966. Studies on the life cycle and propagation technique of Montandoniola moraguesi (Puton) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae). Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomololical Society 19: 209–211.

Dobbs, T.T. and Boyd, D.W. Jr. 2006. Status and distribution of Montandoniola moraguesi (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) in the continental United States. Florida Entomologist 89: 41-46.

Ibrahim, M.M.A., Tawfik, M.F.S., Agamy, E.A. and El-usseini, M.M. 2013. Seasonal abundance of Montandoneilla moraguesi Puton (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae), the predator of Gynaikothrips ficorum Marchal (Thysanoptera: Phloethripidae) on Ficus nitida Thunb. at Giza, Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control 23: 187-188.

Muraleedharan, N. and Ananthakrshnan, T. 1971. Bionomics of Montandoniella moraguesi (Puton) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae), a predator on gall thrips. Bulletin of Entomological Research 12: 4-10.

Tawfik, M.F.S. and A. Naguib. 1965. The biology of Montandoniella moraguesi Puton, a predator of Gynaikothrips ficorum Marshal in Egypt. Bulletin de la Société entomologique d’Égypte 49: 181-200.‏