Background: Identification and characterization of Scirtothrips dorsalis in blackgram. 
 
Methods: Pictorial taxonomic key-based morphology identification of Scirtothrips dorsalis and molecular characterization through DNA sequencing using species specific marker mtCOIII for accurate confirmation of the species. 
 
Result: The present paper reports the host record of S. dorsalis on blackgram and its identification, molecular characterization through DNA barcodes from A.P. This study contributed 07 (seven) novel gene sequences to NCBI database and also revealed the existence of low genetic polymorphism among the mtCOIII sequences of S. dorsalis. Species specific mtCOIII primer was found promising. Some more genera of thrips were also identified viz. Megalurothrips usitatus, M. typicus (Bagnall), Ayyaria chaetophora (Karny), Phibalothrips peringueyi (Faure) and some Tubuliferan thrips in meager number found in all GBNV hotspots of blackgram across A.P.

Identification and Molecular Characterization of S. dorsalis (Hood) in Blackgram using mtCOIII Marker