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

Abstract

The species of the genus Orius commonly found in East African cropping systems are reviewed. Of the seven species encountered, O. albidipennis (Reuter), O. tantillus (Motschulsky) and O. thripoborus (Hesse) were the most abundant and broadly distributed. O. ugandensis is described as new, the male genitalia of O. jeanneli (Poppius) and O. naivashae (Poppius) are illustrated for the first time and O. shakebi Ghauri is a new record for Uganda. Dorsal habitus views and illustrations of the female and male genitalia are provided for each species, as well as information on distribution, habitat and host plants. Scanning electron micrographs of the metathoracic scent efferent system also are provided. A key is given to identify the economically important 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 potential for natural control and insect pest management programmes for relevant insect pest populations in East Africa.

Keywords:

• Heteroptera
• Anthocoridae
• Orius
• Taxonomy
• East Africa
• Natural Predators