EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE AND SUGAR MAPLE POLLEN ON OVIPOSITION AND LONGEVITY OF PEAR THRIPS (THYSANOPTERA, THRIPIDAE)

A laboratory bioassay was conducted to test the effects of temperature and the availability of Acer saccharum Marshall pollen on adult femal e Taeniothrips inconsequens (Uzel) longevity and oviposition. Over a r ange of temperatures (8-20 degrees C), a diet that included pollen sig nificantly increased T. inconsequens adult longevity, total ovipositio n, and oviposition rate compared with diets that included no pollen. F or diets with and without pollen, adult longevity significantly decrea sed with increasing temperature. However, the decrease in total ovipos ition and oviposition rate with increasing temperatures was only margi nally significant. The importance of these 3 factors in determining th e population dynamics of T. inconsequens in sugar maple stands is disc ussed.