The introduced species over the last twenty years in the italian Thrips Fauna

The current Italian Thrips Fauna lists 255 species of different origin. About 170 species are from Central and Northern Europe, more than 60 are Mediterranean and 20 species have been introduced. These last species come from Asia, Central and South America, North America and Africa. Nineteen of the exotic species have economic importance in agriculture due to direct damages and for virus disease transmission, however only a few of them have become invasive in the Italian territory. The aim of the present contribution is to provide a state-of-the art account of the alien thrips species and their ecological and economic impact on the Italian colonized habitats.