Taxonomic information	Current valid scientific name: Scirtothrips dorsalisSynonyms: Anaphothrips andreae, Anaphothrips dorsalis, Anaphothrips fragariae, Heliothrips minutissimus, Neophysopus fragariae, Scirtothrips andreae, Scirtothrips dorsalis padmae, Scirtothrips fragariae, Scirtothrips minutissimus, Scirtothrips padmaeName used in the EU legislation: Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood [SCITDO]Order: ThysanopteraFamily: ThripidaeCommon name: Assam thrips, chilli thrips, flower thrips, strawberry thrips, yellow tea thrips, castor thripsName used in the Dossier: Scirtothrips dorsalis
Group	Insects
EPPO code	SCITDO
Regulated status	The pest is listed in Part A of Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 as Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood [SCITDO].Scirtothrips dorsalis is included in the EPPO A2 list (EPPO, online_a).The pest is quarantine in Israel, Mexico and Morocco (EPPO, online_b).
Pest status in Israel	Present, widespread in Israel (EPPO, online_c).
Pest status in the EU	Present in the Netherlands and Spain (EPPO, online_c).There was one outbreak in Netherlands and two in Spain, in mango greenhouses, they are under eradication (Europhyt Oubreaks database, online).
Host status on Ficus carica	Scirtothrips dorsalis is a pest of F. carica (Cabrera‐Asencio and Ramírez, 2007; Hodges et al., 2005).
PRA information	Available Pest Risk Assessments:– CSL pest risk analysis for Scirtothrips dorsalis (MacLeod and Collins, 2006),– Pest Risk Assessment Scirtothrips dorsalis (Vierbergen and van der Gaag, 2009),– Scientific Opinion on the pest categorisation of Scirtothrips dorsalis (EFSA PLH Panel, 2014),– Scientific opinion on the commodity risk assessment of Jasminum polyanthum plants from Israel (EFSA PLH Panel, 2020).
Other relevant information for the assessment
Biology	Scirtothrips dorsalis is native to the Indian subcontinent. The pest can have annually up to 8 generations in temperate regions and up to 18 generations in warm subtropical and tropical areas (Kumar et al., 2013).The stages of the life cycle include egg, first and second instar larva, prepupa, pupa and adult (Kumar et al., 2013). They can be found on all the aboveground plant parts (Kumar et al., 2014). Temperature threshold for development is 9.7°C and 32°C, with 265 degree‐days required for development from egg to adult (Tatara, 1994). The adult can live up to 13–15 days (Kumar et al., 2013).Females can lay between 60 and 200 eggs per generation (Seal and Klassen, 2012). Females develop from fertilised and males from unfertilised eggs (Kumar et al., 2013). The eggs are inserted into soft plant tissues and hatch between 2 and 7 days (Kumar et al., 2014).Larvae and adults tend to gather near the mid‐vein or near the damaged part of leaf tissue. Pupae are found in the leaf litter, on the axils of the leaves, in curled leaves or under the calyx of flowers and fruits (Kumar et al., 2013; MacLeod and Collins, 2006). Adults can overwinter in soil or protected in plant parts (Holtz, 2006).The pest cannot overwinter, if the temperature remains below – 4°C for 5 or more days (Nietschke et al., 2008).Adults fly actively for short distances and passively on wind currents, which enables long‐distance spread (EFSA PLH Panel, 2014). They overwinter as adults (Okada and Kudo, 1982) in bark, litter and soil (Shibao, 1991).Scirtothrips dorsalis is a vector of plant viruses including chilli leaf curl virus (CLC), peanut necrosis virus (PBNV), peanut yellow spot virus (PYSV), tobacco streak virus (TSV), watermelon silver mottle virus (WsMoV), capsicum chlorosis virus (CaCV) and melon yellow spot virus (MYSV) (Kumar et al., 2013).
Symptoms	Main type of symptoms	The pest damages young leaves, buds, tender stems and fruits by puncturing tender tissues with their stylets (Kumar et al., 2013).Main symptoms are:– ‘sandy paper lines’ on the epidermis of the leaves,– leaf crinkling and upwards leaf curling,– leaf size reduction,– discoloration of buds, flowers and young fruits,– silvering of the leaf surface,– linear thickenings of the leaf lamina,– brown frass markings on the leaves and fruits,– fruits develop corky tissues,– grey to black markings on fruits,– fruit distortion and early senescence of leaves,– defoliation, (Kumar et al., 2013; Kumar et al., 2014).When the population is high, thrips may feed on the upper surfaces of leaves and cause defoliation and yield loss (Kumar et al., 2013).
	Presence of asymptomatic plants	Plant damage might not be obvious in early infestation or during dormancy (due to absence of leaves). The presence of S. dorsalis on the plants could hardly be observed.
	Confusion with other pathogens/pests	Plants infested by S. dorsalis appear similar to plants damaged by the feeding of broad mites (Kumar et al., 2013).Due to small size and morphological similarities within the genus, the identification of S. dorsalis, using traditional taxonomic keys, is difficult. The most precise identification of the pest is combination of molecular and morphological methods (Kumar et al., 2013).
Host plant range	Scirtothrips dorsalis is a polyphagous pest with more than 100 reported hosts (Kumar et al., 2013). The pest can infect many more plant species, but they are not considered to be true hosts, since the pest cannot reproduce on all of them (EFSA PLH Panel, 2014).The hosts of the pest are kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa), peanut (Arachis hypogaea), tea (Camellia sinensis), pepper (Capsicum annuum), chilli pepper (Capsicum frutescens), citrus (Citrus spp.), muskmelon (Cucumis melo), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), fig (Ficus carica), Burgundy rubber tree (Ficus elastica ‘Burgundy’), strawberry (Fragaria spp.), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), litchi (Litchi chinensis), mango (Mangifera indica), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), avocado (Persea americana), poplar (Populus deltoids), castor (Ricinus communis), rose (Rose spp.), eggplant (Solanum melongena), grapevine (Vitis vinifera), corn (Zea mays) and other plants (Hodges et al., 2005; Kumar et al., 2014).Scirtothrips dorsalis causes economic loses to chilli pepper, mango, grapevine, citrus, vegetables and tea (Kumar et al., 2013).
Pathways	Plants for planting, cut flowers, fruits and vegetables, soil and growing media are pathways for introduction and spread of S. dorsalis (EFSA PLH Panel, 2014).
Surveillance information	No surveillance information for this pest is currently available from PPIS. There is no information on whether the pest has ever been found in the nursery or their surrounding environment.