First-instar larvae begin feeding on egg eclosion. Second-instar larvae also feed on plant tissue, usually in flowers. These larvae are found in the protection of perianth of the flower or within developing terminal foliage. Late in the second instar they stop feeding and move down the plant to pupate. Thrips develop through two quiescent, nonfeeding pupal stages in the soil, plant litter, or in a protected area on the plant.
Adults emerge and resume feeding on flowers, buds, and terminal foliage.
The entire life cycle from oviposition to adult emergence can take 12 days in hot weather to 44 days in cool weather. The thrips are difficult to manage with pesticides because of their thigmotactic behavior causes them to feed deep in the flowers and buds where they are sheltered from chemicals. Chemical management of western flower thrips has received much attention, but control remains difficult. Natural enemies have been investigated and biological control programs using insidious plant buts on predaceous mites in the genus Amblyseius have been used in greenhouses. Screening has been shown to effectively exclude western flower thrips.