Especies del género Frankliniella (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) registradas en la Argentina, una actualización

Este trabajo proporciona una clave ilustrada para 21 especies de Frankliniella registradas para la Argentina, incluyendo tres citas nuevas: Frankliniella graminis Cavalleri & Mound, colectado sobre Sorghum halepense; Frankliniella otites Berzosa & Maroto, sobre flores de Senecio spp. y Verbena seriphioides; y Frankliniella williamsi Hood sobre hojas de Zea maiz “maíz". También son proporcionados nuevos hospedadores para Frankliniella gracilis. Se incluyen notas sobre cada especie. Frankliniella cognata Hood es excluida de la fauna de tisanópteros de la Argentina.

Primer registro del daño de Leucothrips piercei (Morgan) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) en cultivos de pimiento (Capsicum annuum L.) (Solanaceae) en la Argentina

Se cita por primera vez para la Argentina la presencia de Leucothrips piercei (Morgan) y se registra a Capsicum annuum L. como una nueva planta huésped. Se describen los caracteres diagnósticos y se detallan las características del daño ocasionado a las hojas de pimiento.

Effect of Prosopis flexuosa on understory species and its importance to pastoral management in woodlands of the Central Monte Desert

In the Monte Biogeographic Province, located in the arid region of Argentina, the presence of Prosopis flexuosa DC. produces spatial heterogeneity through edaphic modifications and microclimate changes. This results in vegetation patches differing in species composition and abundance. However, this interaction can be modified by the occurrence of gradients of biotic stress or disturbance intensity. In particular, grazing has been observed to enhance or reduce vegetation heterogeneity. Such complex of interactions could determine forage availability for cattle in one of the driest areas of the Monte Desert. We assessed the effect of Prosopis on understory species and analyzed whether the outcomes of this interaction differed with distance to watering points, as a proxy of grazing intensity, in the Northeast of Mendoza Province, Argentina. We used a two-way factorial design including the following factors: 1) microsite (under the cover of P. flexuosa trees and in intercanopy microsites) and 2) distance to watering points ("near the watering point", 500-700 m away, and "far from the watering point", 3-4 km away). Cover of each species, total cover, bare soil, and litter were recorded, and plant diversity, richness, and evenness were estimated with the modified Point Quadrat method. Results showed that P. flexuosa cover, distance from watering points, and the interaction between them determined species composition, abundance and spatial distribution of understory species, and were, consequently, a determining factor for forage availability. The presence of P. flexuosa enhances carrying capacity by supporting higher abundance of grasses under its canopy. Near watering points, high grazing intensity appears to disrupt the patches formed under P. flexuosa canopies, reducing the differences between microsites.