The female tobacco thrips is dark brown or black, slender, and about 1 mm long.
Males are usually yellow.
The white egg cannot usually be seen because it is inserted into the plant tissue. Both stages of tobacco thrips larvae are very light yellow. After the larval stages, tobacco thrips develop through two resting stages, the prepupa, and pupa. Each stage is yellowish and sluggish. These stages are spent in a close hiding place, usually on the ground.