A few species are able to travel across large plowed fields to find food. See Cutworm fact sheet. Gladiolus thrips, Thrips simplex . A few species of thrips severely injure gladiolus, with the gladiolus thrips being the worst offender. The flower buds may be injured so that no good blossoms result.
Females lay eggs in slits made in leaf surfaces.
The nymphs take from 2 to 4 weeks to mature, allowing for many generations in one year. They overwinter in the corms. The life cycle can be broken by storing the corms at 40 - 45 F or soaking them for three hours in 1.25 tablespoons of disinfectant in a gallon of water just prior to planting. The minute insects hide in the sheaths of the flower stem where it is difficult to reach them with a spray. Among the compounds registered for use against this pest in Connecticut are methoxychlor, spinosad, or carbaryl, which can control this pest when applied early in the growing season, prior to flower formation.