A review of the economically important species of the genus Orius (Heteroptera : Anthocoridae) in East Africa

The species of the genus Orius commonly found in East African cropping syst ems are reviewed. Of the seven species encountered, O, albidipennis (Reuter ), O. tantillus (Motschulsky) and O. thripoborus (Hesse) were the most abun dant and broadly distributed. O. ugandensis is described as new, the male g enitalia of O, jeanneli (Poppius) and O. naivashae (Poppius) are illustrate d for the first time and O. shakebi Ghauri is a new record for Uganda. Dors al habitus views and illustrations of the female and male genitalia are pro vided for each species, as well as information on distribution, habitat and host plants. Scanning electron micrographs of the metathoracic scent effer ent system also are provided. A key is given to identify the economically i mportant species of Orius in East Africa. As a result of the present study, the species O. albidipennis, O. tantillus, O. thripoborus, and O. jeanneli , are recommended as the highest priority for further studies of their pote ntial for natural control and insect pest management programmes for relevan t insect pest populations in East Africa.