Religious markers reduce perceived trustworthiness in a Muslim-majority country.

(Thysanoptera: Thripidae) (Karny, 1922) is an invasive pest of increasing global concern, affecting a wide range of crops including ornamental plants, fruit trees, and vegetables. Likely native to India, it has expanded its distribution over the past three decades, with confirmed reports in Africa, North America, and Europe., In Europe, sweet pepper ( L.) is one of its primary host plants. In Spain, was first reported in 2017 on ornamental crops, and its presence in sweet pepper was confirmed in 2022. Since then, it has caused substantial damage to this economically important crop, which accounts for more than 1.09 million tonnes of annual production in Spain and generates more than €1.28 billion in turnover. The continued spread of represents a major threat to the sustainability of sweet pepper cultivation and disrupts established integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. Therefore, new species of natural enemies and strategies are needed against this pest. Southern Spain constitutes one of the largest contiguous areas worldwide where augmentative biological control is systematically applied, with sweet pepper cultivation as a prime example. For decades, IPM strategies in the region have reduced reliance on chemical pesticides through the use of natural enemies., Today, nearly all of the approximately 12 500 ha of sweet pepper grown in Southern Spain rely on biological control as the main pest management strategy, predominantly through the release of predatory arthropods including the generalist predator (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) and species of predatory mites of the family Phytoseiidae. has long been considered a cornerstone in the control of flower‐dwelling thrips, especially Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), which was until recently the dominant thrips pest in sweet pepper., , , , , , , However, the emergence of has exposed limitations in this approach. Unlike , which primarily inhabits flowers, tends to dwell on leaves, a habitat less frequently patrolled by . The effectiveness of against leaf‐dwelling species may be reduced because of its floral foraging habits and pollen‐based nutrition. However, has demonstrated certain capacity to control other leaf‐dwelling thrips, such as Morgan and Moulton. Among the biocontrol agents used in IPM programs in sweet pepper, phytoseiid mites such as Athias‐Henriot are widely applied for their capacity to suppress whitefly and thrips populations, particularly the flower‐dwelling ., , In particular, the combined application of and has been effective in reducing populations in sweet pepper. However, the efficacy of against appears limited. Behavioral studies have shown that while can prey on first‐instar larvae, second‐instar larvae and adult females of exhibit defensive behaviors and may even prey on eggs. Although this interaction is unlikely to severely impact mite populations,, it raises concerns about the overall reliability of in controlling .