Thrips

Thrips (order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly 1 mm (0.039 in) long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Entomologists have described approximately 7,700 species. They fly only weakly and their feathery wings are unsuitable for conventional flight; instead, thrips exploit an unusual mechanism, clap and fling, to create lift using an unsteady circulation pattern with transient vortices near the wings.

Thrips are a functionally diverse group, with nearly half of the known species being fungivorous. A small proportion of species of thrips are serious pests of commercially important crops. Some of these serve as vectors for over 20 viruses that cause plant disease, especially the Tospoviruses. Many flower-dwelling species bring benefits as pollinators, with some predatory thrips feeding on small insects or mites. In the right conditions, such as in greenhouses, invasive species can exponentially increase in population size and form large swarms because of a lack of natural predators coupled with their ability to reproduce asexually, making them destructive to crops. Due to their cryptic nature, thrips may aggregate in household objects such as furniture, bedding and computer monitors – in the latter case by forcing their way in between the LCD and its glass covering. Their identification to species by standard morphological characteristics is often challenging.