Riptortus pedestris is an important soybean pest in Korea and Japan. Aggregation pheromone traps were evaluated in 12 soybean fields in Andong using three treatments of trap installation, i.e., installation for whole cultivation period, installation up to September, and no installation. The number of R. pedestris (in all life stages) were not significantly different among the treatments until October, but its abundance significantly increased at mid October in the fields where traps were installed. Trap catch of R. pedestris was relatively higher in August while bug population was low in the fields. However, in fall, R. pedestris populations become abundant in the fields while trap catch was low. There was no significant difference in parasitism as well as seed and pod damage among the treatments. In conclusion, aggregation pheromone trap should’nt be used as control measure, but can be used as a monitoring tool of R. pedestris population up to August in soybean field.

Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) and F. intonsa (Trybom) have been shown asymmetrical occurrence pattern in pepper and strawberry fields. To explain this phenomenon, interactive influence of temperatures (20, 25, and 30ºC) and relative humidities [Low (50-55%), Medium (70-75%), and High (90-95%)] were assessed on pupal and adult stage of the two thrips species. In pupal stage, mortality of both species decreased as the humidity increased without significant difference between the species. Also, pupal duration of the two thrips decreased as RH increased from low to high in all the temperatures tested, but significantly shorter duration was found in F. intonsa. In adult stage, F. intonsa survived better than F. occidentalis only in high humidity at both 20 and 25ºC. Frankliniella intonsa survived 2.5 and 2.4 times longer as RH increased from low to high at 20 and 25ºC, respectively, whereas F. occidentalis survived 1.8 and 1.6 times longer, respectively. In conclusion, both pupae and adults of F. intonsa performed better at higher RH condition compared to F. occidentalis. Thus, difference in relative susceptibility to changing environmental condition can be one of the underlying mechanisms for the differential occurrence pattern in the fields.

Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande and F. intonsa Trybom (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) are polyphagous insect pests on numerous crops. These two species reduce the crop production in two ways: by sucking sap from the plant parts and by serving as vectors for tospoviruses. In this study, we tried to confirm the previous observation of F. intonsa dominance on certain crops during recent years. Thrips populations were examined on greenhouse strawberry by installing circular yellow sticky cards with black background and on field pepper by destructive sampling of pepper flowers during season of 2012 in Songcheon, Andong. Eighty two to 92% and 3-5% of thrips collected from the both crops were F. intonsa and F. occidentalis respectively. Frankliniella. intonsa was 4-8 times more abundant than F. occidentalis in sticky cards and on pepper flowers. In conclusion, asymmetrical dominance of F. intonsa was found both in strawberry and pepper plant as we found in past on those crops. Underlying reasons such as interspecific competition and climate change were discussed.