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Thrip - A  Very Destructive Pest

• Thrip Description

• Spider mite or Thrip Damage?

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.