Thrips collected in watermelon crops in the semiarid of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

The aim of this research was to report the occurrence of two species of thrips in watermelon crops in the semiarid region of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. From August to September 2011, we performed weekly sampling of thrips in a commercial watermelon production area with 10,000m2, using 20 Moericke traps. We captured a total of 431 thrips, belonging to Frankliniella schultzei (Trybom) (Thripidae) and Haplothrips gowdeyi (Franklin) (Phlaeothripidae). This is the first report of H. gowdeyi in watermelon crops in Brazil