A population of Frankliniella insularis (Franklin) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) associated with Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) (Fabaceae) flowers in Panama

Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) (Fabales: Fabaceae) is used as a live fence and fodder for cattle in Panama. It has flowers that provide shelter and food for various species of insects, mainly thrips (Thysanoptera) that are associated as pests of crops of the Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae families, which justifies the present study. The study was conducted in the Pacific of Cocle in Panama during the rainy period of December 2021, until the dry period of March 2022, which is associated with plant flowering. For this purpose, 10 localities were chosen in a 103 km stretch where G. sepium plants are established as live fences, selecting in each locality a tree from which four flowers were taken, which were placed in glass vials with 70 % alcohol to collect the thrips present every fifteen days. The captured thrips specimens were prepared in fixed slides for their respective identification with available dichotomous keys and the captured specimens were registered to obtain their total and sex. The results of the samplings indicate the presence of populations of Frankliniella insularis (Franklin) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in the flowers of G. sepium. This species is considered a pest of species of the Fa-baceae and Rutaceae families that as a result of climate change and the geographic expansion of its host plants, as is the case of G. sepium, could potentially acquire a primary pest status in agroecosystems and crops sensitive to food security in different regions of the country.