Terebrantia Tubulifera Physopoda[1] Thrips (order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly 1 mm (0.04 in) long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts.

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.

In 1836 the Irish entomologist Alexander Henry Haliday described 41 species in 11 genera and proposed the order name of Thysanoptera.

The first monograph on the group was published in 1895 by Heinrich Uzel,[2] who is regarded by Fedor et al. as the father of Thysanoptera studies.

Tubulifera consists of a single family, Phlaeothripidae; members can be identified by their characteristic tube-shaped apical abdominal segment, egg-laying atop the surface of leaves, and three "pupal" stages.

Females of the eight families of the Terebrantia all possess the eponymous saw-like (see terebra) ovipositor on the anteapical abdominal segment, lay eggs singly within plant tissue, and have two "pupal" stages.

A preliminary analysis in 2013 of 37 species using 3 genes, as well as a phylogeny based on ribosomal DNA and three proteins in 2012, supports the monophyly of the two suborders, Tubulifera and Terebrantia.

[26][27] Melanthripidae other Terebrantia Phlaeothripidae The following families are (2013) recognized:[27][28][14] The identification of thrips to species is challenging as types are maintained as slide preparations of varying quality over time.

[29][30] Thrips are believed to have descended from a fungus-feeding ancestor during the Mesozoic,[19] and many groups still feed upon and inadvertently redistribute fungal spores.

[33] Akainothrips francisi of Australia is a parasite within the colonies of another thrips species Dunatothrips aneurae that makes silken nests or domiciles on Acacia trees.

[34] A number of thrips in the subfamily Phlaeothripinae that specialize on Acacia hosts produce silk with which they glue together phyllodes to form domiciles inside which their semi-social colonies live.

Some species are predatory, but most of them feed on pollen and the chloroplasts harvested from the outer layer of plant epidermal and mesophyll cells.

When the larva supplements its diet in this way, its development time and mortality is reduced, and adult females that consume mite eggs increase their fecundity and longevity.

[47]Thrips setipennis is the sole pollinator of Wilkiea huegeliana, a small, unisexual annually flowering tree or shrub in the rainforests of eastern Australia.

[59] Anal secretions are produced in the hindgut,[60] and released along the posterior setae as predator deterrents[60][61] In Australia, aggregations of male common blossom thrips have been observed on the petals of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and Gossypium hirsutum; females were attracted to these groups so it seems likely that the males were producing pheromones.

In the Merothripidae and in the Aeolothripidae, males are again polymorphic with large and small forms, and probably also compete for mates, so the strategy may well be ancestral among the Thysanoptera.

Some of the gall-forming Phlaeothripidae, such as genera Kladothrips[63] and Oncothrips,[64] form eusocial groups similar to ant colonies, with reproductive queens and nonreproductive soldier castes.

The feathery wings of thrips, however, generate lift by clap and fling, a mechanism discovered by the Danish zoologist Torkel Weis-Fogh in 1973.

[74] Some thrips such as Elaphothrips tuberculatus are known to be facultatively ovoviviparous, retaining the eggs internally and giving birth to male offspring.

The first two instars, called larvae or nymphs, are like small wingless adults (often confused with springtails) without genitalia; these feed on plant tissue.

[74] The larvae of some species produce silk from the terminal abdominal segment which is used to line the cell or form a cocoon within which they pupate.

[14] Thrips are haplodiploid with haploid males (from unfertilised eggs, as in Hymenoptera) and diploid females capable of parthenogenesis (reproducing without fertilisation), many species using arrhenotoky, a few using thelytoky.

[85] These enveloped viruses are considered among some of the most damaging of emerging plant pathogens around the world, with those vector species having an outsized impact on human agriculture.

The western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, has spread until it now has a worldwide distribution, and is the primary vector of plant diseases caused by tospoviruses.

[87] Their small size and predisposition towards enclosed places makes them difficult to detect by phytosanitary inspection, while their eggs, laid inside plant tissue, are well-protected from pesticide sprays.

[78] When coupled with the increasing globalization of trade and the growth of greenhouse agriculture, thrips, unsurprisingly, are among the fastest growing group of invasive species in the world.

[88] Flower-feeding thrips are routinely attracted to bright floral colors (including white, blue, and especially yellow), and will land and attempt to feed.

Suitable predators must be small and slender enough to penetrate the crevices where thrips hide while feeding, and they must also prey extensively on eggs and larvae to be effective.

Biological insecticides such as the fungi Beauveria bassiana and Verticillium lecanii can kill thrips at all life-cycle stages.

Scientists in Japan report that significant reductions in larva and adult melon thrips occur when plants are illuminated with red light.