Your browser does not support JavaScript! Mind Craft
Purdue Extension 4-H/FFA Career Development Event (CDE) | FFA | Purdue | entomology | CDE | insect | insect orders | flashcards | contest
insect image
spacer
Thrips adult
(John Obermeyer, Purdue University)
spacer
Common Name: Thrips - adult
See also: larva | damage

Scientific Name: Thysanoptera: several species

Status: pest of many plants, particularly in greenhouses

Damaging Stage: nymph and adult

Biology: Thrips are slender and minute (1/20 inch long) and have long fringes on the margins of both pairs of their long, narrow wings. Magnification is required to make out important morphological features. Thrips range in color from translucent white to dark brown.

Female thrips deposit eggs in slits made in the leaf tissue. The eggs hatch within a week into active nymphs. The developmental period from egg to adult ranges from eleven days to three weeks. Parthenogenesis occurs in many species.

Depending on the species, thrips can undergo anywhere from one to eight generations per year.