I P S Thrips are tiny, slender insects that feed on surfaces of plant tissues with their sucking mouthparts. Usually their fecal spots and the damage they cause by scraping the surface of the leaf are more visible than the thrips themselves. Some thrips are predators, such as the six-spotted thrip, which feeds on other thrips and mites.
Adults are commonly yellowish or blackish and shiny.
The life stages of thrips include the egg, two larval stages, a prepupal stage, the pupa and the adult. Development from egg to adult takes about two weeks in warm weather and a month in cooler weather. Monitoring Most adult thrips are attracted to yellow sticky traps, although blue sticky traps are most effective for western flower thrips. The traps should be positioned within a two-foot zone above the plants. The presence of thrips does not mean that damage will result from their feeding.