Order Thysanoptera
Thrips are tiny insects, with or without wings, and are rarely over 1/8 inch long. They have rasping-sucking mouthparts, which they use to rasp the surface of leaves and suck up the juice as it oozes out. Metamorphosis is gradual, the life stages being the egg, nymph, prepupae, pupae and adult. Thrips are commonly found on many plants, including gladiolus, onions and greenhouse crops.
Examples
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Line drawing of thrips, clearly showing wings. | |
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Family Thripidae Thrips tabaci - onion thrips (on left) Frankliniella occidentalis - western flower thrips (on right) Thrips are small insects, often found in flower heads. image from www.insectimages.org |
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To learn more about thrips, check out the following websites:
- Discover Life website: http://www.discoverlife.org/nh/tx/Insecta/Thysanoptera/
- CSIRO website (Australia) - http://www.ento.csiro.au/thysanoptera/