Thysanoptera fauna of the Aegean region, Turkey, in the spring

The Thysanoptera fauna of the Aegean region of Turkey was studied in the spring of 1993 and 1995. The surveys were conducted in the following provinces: Afyonkarahisar, Aydin, Denizli, Izmir, Manisa, Mugla, and Usak. A total of 2899 specimens from 405 samples were examined. The study revealed 82 Thysanoptera species, which included new records for the region and Turkey. One genus, Prosopothrips Uzel, and 3 species, Oxythrips halidayi Bagnall, Prosopothrips nigriceps Bagnall, and Rubiothrips validus (Karny), are new records for Turkish fauna. The most common and abundant species (represented with the number of samples-specimens) were Thrips meridionalis (Priesner) (102-481), Thrips tabaci Lindeman (97-287), and Thrips angusticeps (76-333). Among the others, Aeolothrips intermedius Bagnall (65-161), Aeolothrips collaris Priesner (46-96), Haplothrips reuteri (Trybom) (54-132), and Haplothrips tritici Kurdjumov (35-158) were relatively more frequent and abundant. The majority of the species were Palaearctic, in particular Mediterranean and European, and inhabit woody plants, cereals, and grasses.