They feed with piercing-sucking mouthparts, removing fluid from plant tissues. Plant bugs frequently cause spotting on leaves or the death and loss of buds. Leaf-hoppers frequently carry plant viruses that infect leaf tissue and result in additional injury symptoms. Thrips are usually found gathered together in large numbers. They are very active insects which crawl or fly rapidly when disturbed.
Thrips rasp or tear the surface of plant tissues as they feed, then suck up the freed plant fluid.
Injured plants have a silvery luster at the feeding site. Leaves damaged by thrips become disfigured. Flower buds are a favorite feeding site of thrips. All flowering garden plants are attractive to thrips. They are a particularly troublesome pest of roses.