Identification and rearing of four thrips species vectors of Tospovirus in the Federal District, Brazil

Abstract

The disease caused by the viruses belonging to the genus Tospovirus is a serious problem in horticultural and ornamental crops in Brazil. In the field, this virus group is transmitted by the insect vector, thrips. Little is known about the thrips species occurring in Brazil, and which species are important for the dissemination of these diseases. For the study of epidemiology of this virus group, different thrips populations, which may have the capacity to be vectors of tospoviruses, were collected in the Federal District. Four species were identified: Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande, F. schultzei Trybom, Thrips palmi Karny and T. tabaci Lindeman. This is the first report of the occurrence of F. occidentalis and T. palmi in the Federal District. A methodology for the rearing of these four thrips is described in this report.Doenças causadas pelos vírus do gênero Tospovirus são de grande importância em culturas de hortaliças e ornamentais no Brasil. No entanto, são escassos os estudos dos insetos que transmitem estes vírus no campo, os tripes. Pouco se sabe sobre as espécies de tripes que ocorrem no Brasil e quais as responsáveis pela ampla disseminação destas doenças. Com objetivo de estudar os aspectos epidemiológicos dos vírus, diferentes populações de tripes, potenciais vetores de tospovírus, foram coletadas no DF. Quatro espécies foram identificadas, Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande, F. schultzei Trybom, Thrips palmi Karny e T. tabaci Lindeman. Este é o primeiro relato da presença de F. occidentalis e T. palmi no DF. A metodologia de criação das quatro espécies de tripes é descrita.