Difficult to control with pesticides 2. Thrips found on plants that normally would not have thrips populations 3. Other than this the best way to tell if it is a species of the new strain is to send it to a specialist for identification. The thrips feeds on flowers and foliage by using its rasping sucking mouthpiece, by first scraping the area and then feeding on the plant juices. Distorted mature leaves and petals 2.
Leaves take on a silvery appearance where damaged.
Deformed growing tips, stems and fruit. The thrips adult is also responsible for the transmission of tomato spotted wilt virus and impatiens necrotic spot virus. These viruses infect both ornamental and vegetable plants. Plants grown at high temperatures will show little signs but once moved into cooler areas will rapidly decline in health. This is the easiest and perhaps the most cost effective method.