THYSANOPTERA

Thrips
Small insects, 0.5 to 5 mm long.
Four wings, narrow, with few veins, fringed with long hairs.
Mouthparts of sucking type, stout conical proboscis (beak).
Short antennae, 4-9 segments.
Tarsi 1-2 segments.
Metamorphosis is intermediate between simple and complete. The first 2 instars have no external wings.
The males and females look similar, but males a bit smaller.
Several generations in a year.
Plant feeders, flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, buds. Few species feed on fungi, few are predaceous.
Feeding destroys plant cells, they empty the cells which become silverish in color. If the attack is heavy, plant tissue will turn brown and dry up.
Thrips are often vectors of diseases.
The order Thysanoptera is divided in 2 suborders:
- Suborder Terebrantia: ovipositor present, conical tip of abdomen, forewings with seta-bearing veins.
- Suborder Tubulifera: ovipositor absent, tip of abdomen tubular, forewings without veins.

Families

The order Thysanoptera is divided into a number of families. Only one family is important in agriculture: