Thrip - A Very Destructive Pest
Pest Description:
Greenhouse thrips can be distinguished with the head and central area of the
body having a distinct network of lines. The body is dark brown with the
posterior end much lighter; legs are uniformly yellow; wings are hyaline and
narrow, but with a broad base; antennae are slender with a characteristic
needle-like tip. Mature adults are about 1/32 inch long. The male is similar to
the female, but slightly smaller.
Damage:
Thrips feed on flowers and foliage. Oviposition and feeding scars reduce the
aesthetic quality and marketability of ornamental plants.
Life cycle:
Each female deposits 25 to 50 eggs in slits in the leaves. Development takes
about 30 day for a complete life-cycle. The adults can live 7 weeks on plants
growing in the greenhouse. All stages can be found throughout the year in
greenhouses. Greenhouse thrips move relatively slowly and rarely fly. They
prefer a cool, shady, and fairly moist atmosphere. Often the fruit is preferred
to the leaves. Since males are not common, reproduction is usually by
parthenogenesis.
More about Thrip and plant diseases problems
Spider mite or Thrips damage? Spider mites damage shows up as a yellow spotting of leaves, sometimes there can be a lot of very fine webbing on the plant stems and leaves. Not all Spider mites leave webs, but yellow spotting and blotching are sure signs of Spider mites.
Leaves damaged by Thrip will have tiny black specks dotting the leaves, this is the poop from the Thrip. The leaf will have a silver sheen or browning in patches. See the picture above.