Thrips are technically a less common insect pest, but I've found that they are most prevalent in my household. Thrips can be difficult to manage because they develop quickly. If thrips injury is found, inspect a portion of these seedlings for live thrips. Note that some types of herbicides can create injury that mimics thrips injury. and thrips thrips management is the only option for virus control. The left mandible is used briefly to cut into the food plant; saliva is injected and the maxillary stylets, which form a tube, are then inserted and the semi-digested food pumped from ruptured cells. Many species can complete a generation in just 2 weeks. Under a microscope, thrips resemble minuscule lobsters, and they may or may not have wings. In addition, certain types of thrips can spread fatal plant viruses, including the tomato spotted wilt or impatiens necrotic spot. Citrus thrips are better control by Euseiues mites. Try using Safer ® Brand Insect Killing Soap to prevent the infestation of thrips and keep your plants looking healthy all season long. The nasty creatures can look like tiny black slivers lurking under leaves. Generally, though, thrips hibernate in soil through the winter. Thrips feeding is usually accompanied by black varnishlike flecks of frass (excrement). Species of thrips can feed on fungi, plants, and other insects depending on their classification. Browse Thrips Species A. Acanthothrips albivittatus; Acanthothrips argentifer; Acanthothrips nodicornis; Adraneothrips ephippium; Adraneothrips faustus; Adraneothrips saturatus Thrips are a major pest of greenhouse crops in Ontario. They feed by puncturing the epidermal (outer) layer of host tissue and sucking out the cell contents, which results in stippling, discolored flecking, or silvering of the leaf surface. For example, Cuban Laurel thrips are best controlled by minute pirate bugs and green lacewing larvae. Specific predators may have different levels of effectiveness for different thrips species. A number of thrips species are commonly found including western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), eastern flower thrips (Frankliniella tritici), onion thrips (Thrips tabaci), and Echinothrips. There are several different species of thrips, and the exact lifecycle and how they thrips damage plants depends on the species. Therefore it is critical to scout for live insects. Determining the classification is not difficult if you have a hand lens. Thrips, order Thysanoptera, are tiny, slender insects with fringed wings. Thrips have asymmetrical mouthparts unique to the group. Thrips may also leave excrement on plants. If you suspect you have a thrips and/or thrips vectored pest problem, remember that it is important to have the thrips species and the virus identified. Because of their minute size, thrips are incredibly challenging to spot. Thrips species can be difficult to differentiate in the field, and virus symptoms may resemble other problems. However, the types of thrips that infest houseplants are usually 0.04â (1 mm) long. Garden soil, which is loose and easy to burrow into, is a particular thrip favorite. To identify this nuisance in your garden, check the leaves, buds, flowers, and fruits of your plants for white splotches and black feces. Unlike the Hemiptera (true bugs), the right mandible of thrips is reduced and vestigial â and in some species completely absent. Thrips are a common garden pest that feed on and infect a variety of different plants.