| Thrips | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Thrips tabaci (left); Frankliniella occidentalis (right) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Thysanoptera |
| Family: | Thripidae |
| Subfamily: | Thripinae |
| Genus: | Thrips Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Type species | |
| Thrips physapus Linnaeus, 1758 [1] | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Thrips is a genus of insect in the order Thysanoptera.
Species in the genus Thrips feed on pollen, and can be major agricultural pests, with several being vectors of tospoviruses. [3]
The name Thrips comes from the Greek word θρίψ meaning woodworm. [4]
Thrips is the largest genus of thrips, with over 280 species, [5] most of which are found in Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. Other species occur on each of the continents, including one species described from Antarctica. [3] Thrips includes the species of thrips most frequently intercepted at ports of entry into the United States, T. tabaci . [3]
The following species are recognised: [5]
Thrips are minute, slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Different thrips species feed mostly on plants by puncturing and sucking up the contents, although a few are predators. Entomologists have described approximately 6,000 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.
The Thripidae are the most speciose family of thrips, with over 290 genera representing just over two thousand species. They can be distinguished from other thrips by a saw-like ovipositor curving downwards, narrow wings with two veins, and antennae of six to ten antennomeres with stiletto-like forked sense cones on antennal segments III and IV.
Franklinothrips is a genus of thrips with pantropical distribution.
The chilli thrips or yellow tea thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood, is an extremely successful invasive species of pest-thrips which has expanded rapidly from Asia over the last twenty years, and is gradually achieving a global distribution. It has most recently been reported in St. Vincent (2004) Florida (2005), Texas (2006), and Puerto Rico (2007). It is a pest of economic significance with a broad host range, with prominent pest reports on crops including pepper, mango, citrus, strawberry, grapes, cotton, tea, peanuts, blueberry, and roses. Chilli thrips appear to feed preferentially on new growth, and infested plants usually develop characteristic wrinkled leaves, with distinctive brown scarring along the veins of leaves, the buds of flowers, and the calyx of fruit. Feeding damage can reduce the sale value of crops produced, and in sufficient numbers, kill plants already aggravated by environmental stress. This thrips has also been implicated in the transmission of three tospoviruses, but there is some controversy over its efficiency as a vector.
The Thripinae are a subfamily of thrips, insects of the order Thysanoptera. The Thripinae belong to the common thrips family Thripidae and include around 1,400 species in 150 genera. A 2012 molecular phylogeny found that the Thripinae was paraphyletic; further work will be needed to clarify the relationships within the group.
Scirtothrips is a genus of thrips in the family Thripidae.
Thrips tabaci is a species of very small insect in the genus Thrips in the order Thysanoptera. It is commonly known as the onion thrips, the potato thrips, the tobacco thrips or the cotton seedling thrips. It is an agricultural pest that can damage crops of onions and other plants, and it can additionally act as a vector for plant viruses.
Neohydatothrips samayunkur, the marigold thrips, is a species of thrips in the family Thripidae. It is found in Africa, Australia, Europe and Northern Asia, Central America, and North America.
Neohydatothrips is a genus of thrips in the family Thripidae. There are at least 30 described species in Neohydatothrips.
Ctenothrips is a genus of thrips in the family Thripidae. There are about 10 described species in Ctenothrips.
Gynaikothrips ficorum, the Cuban laurel thrips, is a species of tube-tailed thrip in the family Phlaeothripidae. It is found in Africa, North America, and Europe. It is widespread around the world because of its host, Ficus.
Gynaikothrips is a genus of tube-tailed thrips in the family Phlaeothripidae. There are more than 30 described species in Gynaikothrips.
Heliothrips is a genus of thrips in the family Thripidae. There are about 18 described species in Heliothrips.
Panchaetothripinae is a subfamily of thrips in the family Thripidae, first described in 1912 by Richard Siddoway Bagnall. There are about 11 genera and more than 50 described species in Panchaetothripinae.
Parthenothrips is a genus of thrips in the family Thripidae. There is one described species in Parthenothrips, P. dracaenae.
Echinothrips americanus is a species of thrips in the family Thripidae. It is found in North America, Europe, and Asia. E. americanus was first described in 1913 by entomologist A.C. Morgan in Quincy, Florida, where he found the insect on a Veratrum viride plant. Suggested common names include Poinsettia thrips and Impatiens thrips. Since their spread throughout Europe as early as 1995, and subsequently China, E. americanus has been called an "upcoming pest."
Echinothrips is a genus of thrips in the family Thripidae. There are about seven described species in Echinothrips.
Neohydatothrips variabilis, the soybean thrips, is a species of thrips in the family Thripidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Anaglyptothrips is a genus of thrips in the family Phlaeothripidae, first described by Laurence Mound and Palmer in 1983. There is only one species known in this genus, Anaglyptothrips dugdalei, which was described from a specimen collected in New Zealand. However it is also found in New South Wales and Queensland.
Laurence Alfred Mound is an entomologist, who works mostly on the biology and systematics of Thysanoptera (thrips), an area in which he is considered a world authority.