PEST PROFILES: RASPING INSECTS

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Thrip Damage on a Rose Click on image to view larger.

Banded greenhouse thrips Description: Female banded greenhouse thrips, approximately 1/32 inch long, are primarily yellow at first but gradually darken to brown or black. Eyes are red; the narrow fringed wings are gray-brown with 3 white crossbands. Males are rare. Damage: Thrips feed on flowers and foliage. Oviposition and feeding scars reduce the aesthetic quality and marketability of ornamental plants. Life cycle: Eggs are deposited on the underside of leaves or along the stem. Approximately 2 weeks later, larvae emerge and begin feeding. Colonies of young larvae congregate on the underside of leaves and individuals are often covered with a watery globule of excrement. As the larvae feed, they develop through four instars, molting between each stage. The more mature larvae are typically found along leaf midribs or among dried-up foliage. After a larval stage of approximately 18 days, banded greenhouse thrips pupate. Adult thrips that emerge shortly thereafter are less voracious feeders than the larvae. Adults live 40 or more days and females may reproduce with or without mating. Males of this species are rarely found.