The scientific knowledge about the association of Thysanoptera with native or cultivated plants in the Neotropical region is practically nonentity. This work aimed at identifying the thrips species and the plants visited by them or used as hosts in a Conservation Unit, the "Parque Estadual de Itapuã" (30°22'S 51°02'W), Viamão, Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil. Between June 1999 and May 2001, branches (n=1,274), flowers (n=774) and grass tussocks (n=596) were systematically sampled at 20 points in four standardized transects. A total of 72 plant species belonging to 26 families were identified, 60 of those were registered as host plants. From a total of 9,602 thrips specimens, 4,900 (50%) were registered in flowers, 3,764 (39%) in branches and 938 (10%) in grass tussocks. For 6,533 of the specimens (4,480 immatures and 2,053 adults), it was possible to identify the plant on which they were collected. Of a total richness of 61 species of thrips, 35 were recorded in flowers, 36 in branches and 14 in grass tussocks. The most abundant thrips species and the plant species that showed the higher thrips diversity are commented upon.
Host-plant; thrips; native species; Southern Brazil
