First record of black vine thrips, Retithrips syriacus Mayet, in Tunisia M. Elimem 1 , C. Navarro-Campos 2 and B. Chermiti 1 1 Laboratoire d’entomologie, De´partement des inverte´bre´s, microorganismes, malherbes nuisibles, Me´thodes alternatives de lutte, Institut Supe´rieur Agronomique de Chott-Me´riem (ISA CM). 4042, Universite´de Sousse (Tunisia); e-mail: chermiti.ibrahim@iresa.agrinet.tn 2 Laboratorio de entomologı´a, Instituto agroforestal mediterra´neo, Universidad Polite´cnica de Valencia (Spain) During a study on thrips species carried out in Tunisia during 2009 and 2010, Retithrips syriacus was encountered in two different sites and on two host plants: grapevine (Vitis vinifera) and persim- mon (Dyospiros kaki). This species is recorded for the first time in Tunisia and the western part of North Africa. Brief information about its worldwide distribution and morphology is presented. Introduction Thrips are recognized as pests capable of generating serious dam- age on their host plants. Several thrips species have an almost worldwide distribution and are able to invade new areas (Palmer et al., 1989; Bournier, 2002). The black vine thrips, Retithrips syriacus Mayet 1890 (Thysanoptera: Thripidae: Panchaetothripi- nae), was introduced into the eastern Mediterranean region and North Africa, and is likely to spread into other parts of the African continent (Hamon & Edwards, 1994; Bournier, 2002). Retithrips syriacus is known as the black vine thrips, castor thrips, grape thrips (in English), thrips negro de la vid (in Spanish), tripes vermelho de manic ¸oba (in Portuguese) (Wysoki, 2008). Retithrips syriacus is a thrips species which probably origi- nates from Central Africa. It has been recorded in North and Cen- tral America, including Florida in the USA (Hamon & Edwards, 1994; Nickle, 2009) and Puerto Rico (Hamon & Edwards, 1994); in South America (Palmer et al. , 1989), including Brazil (Hamon & Edwards, 1994; Bournier, 2002; zur Strassen & van Harten, 2007); in Africa (Palmer et al. , 1989), including Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Uganda, Somalia, South Africa and Tanzania (Hamon & Edwards, 1994; Bournier, 2002), and in Asia it was recorded in India (Palmer et al. , 1989; Hamon & Edwards, 1994; zur Strassen & van Harten, 2007), Sri Lanka (Tillekaratne et al., 2007), Lebanon, Israel, Syria (Hamon & Edwards, 1994), Palestine (Morton, 1987), Turkey (Doganlar & Yigit, 2002) and the United Arab Emirates (zur Strassen & van Harten, 2007). According to Ananthakrishnan et al. (1992), Hamon & Edwards (1994), Wysoki (1999), Bournier (2002), Doganlar & Yigit (2002), Tillekaratne et al. (2007) and Wysoki (2008), this thrips is a polyphagous and cosmopolitan species which has been recorded on many host plants, including castor oil plant (Ricinus communis), rose (Rosa sp.), grapevine (Vitis sp.), common myrtle (Myrtus communis), cotton (Gossypium sp.), black olive (Bucera buceras), gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba), white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa), Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki ), cassava (Manihot esculenta), mango (Mangifera indica), pista- chio (Pistacia lentiscus), jambul (Syzygium cumini ), jatrophora (Jatropha curcas), blue gum tree (Eucalyptus globules), wild apple (Malus sylvestris), tropical almonds (Terminalia catappa and T. muelleri), sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) and pineapple guava (Feijoa sp.). Some additional hosts may also be infected, such as pear (Pyrus sp.), plum (Prunus sp.), quince (Cydonia oblonga), pecan (Carya sp.), walnut (Juglans sp.), avocado (Persea Americana), coffee (Coffea sp.) and vegetables. Retithrips syriacus prefers leaves of grapevines, eucalyptus, cassava and persimmon (Monteiro, 2002). However, it can feed on fruit skin on persimmon (Morton, 1987). In Brazil, R. syriacus Table 1 Records of Retithrips syriacus in Tunisia from grapevine and persimmon Location Sampling date Host plant* Material collected   Number of leaf samples Number of individuals per leaf Chott-Me ´riem, Sousse 26.08.2009 Grapevine 12 $,6 #, 14 L1, 19 L2, 8 pupae 10 5 Chott-Me ´riem, Sousse 15.09.2009 Grapevine 16 $, 10 #, 18 L1, 8 L2, 12 pupae 10 6.4 Chott-Me ´riem, Sousse 21.10.2009 Grapevine 22 $, 14 #, 16 L1, 16 L2, 14 pupae 10 8.2 Chott-Me ´riem, Sousse 07.11.2009 Grapevine 17 $, 12 #, 20 L1, 23 L2, 11 pupae 10 8.3 Chott-Me ´riem, Sousse 17.09.2010 Grapevine 11 $,7 #, 11 L1, 18 L2, 17 pupae 10 6.4 Chott-Me ´riem, Sousse 27.10.2010 Grapevine 25 $, 21 #, 18 L1, 27 L2, 15 pupae 10 10.6 Sbikha, Kairouan 05.05.2010 Persimmon 54 $, 26 #, 35 L1, 57 L2, 43 pupae 3 71.6 *Grapevine, Vitis vinifera; persimmon, Diospyros kaki.   $, Female; #, male; L1, larvae of first stage; L2, larvae of second stage. 174 ª 2011 The Authors. Journal compilation ª 2011 OEPP/EPPO, Bulletin OEPP/EPPO Bulletin 41, 174–177