Jesús A. Rodríguez-Arrieta

Ultrastructural Morphology of Larva II of Taeniothrips inconsequens (Terebrantia: Thripidae)

Abstract Thysanoptera comprises both economically neutral species and economically important pests of crops. The immature stages of many pest species are not well known and, ironically, those are the most harmful stages for crops. Taeniothrips inconsequens (Uzel) has been reported on at least 35 different host plant species and it is found almost worldwide, but the knowledge of this species is still incomplete. Herein we present SEM images of the larva II of T. inconsequens with comments and remarks on specific features for the accurate identification of this species.

NEW RECORDS OF THRIPS (THYSANOPTERA) FROM CENTRAL AMERICA WITH COMMENTS ON SPECIFIC CHARACTERS

The increase in Thysanoptera research has led to the description of new species, especially in the Neotropic region (Mound 2002). Similarly, new location records for species considered endemic are common in the current literature, as in the case of Ameranathrips herediae Mound & Marullo and Neohydatothrips hadrosetae Mound & Marullo both described for Costa Rica and found recently in Cuba (Gonzalez & Suris 2005; Gonzalez & Castillo 2009). Neohydatothrips hadrosetae was described in Costa Rica from a single specimen in poor condition. A similar case is that of Ethirothrips firmus Hood, which was known only from 5 specimens collected in Brazil and was recently collected in the State of Nayarit in Mexico (ValenzuelaGarcia et al. 2011). With the development of new technologies to study the geographical distribution of species occurrence, the acquisition of new records is important in order to establish new distribution points of various species. These types of data become an essential tool for modern ecology because they lead to an accurate portrayal of species’ distribution and behavior and thereby allow us to predict new locations as potential sites for colonization (Broennimann & Guisan 2008). New localities in Central America for 2 known species are reported in this paper, and comments on variations of their morphological characters are included.

Micro Photographic Study and Considerations on the Morphological Terminology of the Metanotum in Thripinae: Frankliniella insularis (Thripidae: Thripinae) as a Model Species

Abstract. Metanotum characters were used in the determination of species and supra specific groups within Thysanoptera. Collection specimen study of the structure of the metanotum and the presence of sensillae were viewed by light microscopy. Studies using light microscopy, electron microscopy, and laser confocal showed the so-called striations in the metanotum are really keels, while each of the sensillae, considered in the literature as campaniform sensilae, are not well classified and are more likely to be sensilla placodea.