Frankliniella schultzei (Trybom) occurs in pale
and dark forms. The pale form female is yellow with brownish blotches.
The dark form is uniformly dark brown. F. schultzei
occurs in tropical and subtropical areas. The dark form occurs
worldwide and is also known from Florida.
The antennae are eight segmented,
with the apex of segment II and the pedicel
of segment III simple. The interocellar
setae arise along an imaginary line
across the front edges of the two hind ocelli.
This characteristic readily separates F. schultzei
from other dark Frankliniella species,
such as F. fusca and F. insularis.
The postocular setae are slightly
shorter than the interocellar setae.
The anteroangular and anteromarginal
setae are well developed. They are roughly equal in length. The
posteromarginal setae are slightly
shorter than the posteroangular
setae. Two well developed pairs of wings are present.
The comb on abdominal segment VIII is very weakly developed, consisting
of short, sparse microsetae.
Frankliniella schultzei infests a wide range of
host plants. In its native range
in Africa it infests sorghum, peanuts, pigeon peas, mug beans,
cotton, pepper, onions, tomatoes and composite blooms (Palmer et al., 1989).
In Florida it has been collected from tomatoes and cucurbits (Glades
Crop Care, unpublished data). F. schultzei has recently
become a pest of ornamental crops in the Netherlands as the result
of infested plant material (Vierbegen & Mautel 1991).
Frankliniella schultzei's major importance is as
a vector of tomato spotted wilt
virus. The dark form is known to
transmit the disease, while the pale form can transmit the disease
at low efficiency, if at all (Vierbegen & Mautel 1991, Wijkamp
et al. 1995).
In Hawaii, where F. schultzei is part of a complex
of species transmitting the disease,
management of disease inoculum levels in susceptible crops and
alternate weed hosts forms the basis of TSWV management (Cho et
al. 1986, Mau et al. 1991). Its incidence in Florida is very sporadic,
and no special control measures are recommended.