Thrips simplex
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Thrips simplex | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Thysanoptera |
| Family: | Thripidae |
| Genus: | Thrips |
| Species: | T. simplex |
| Binomial name | |
| Thrips simplex Morison, 1930 | |
Thrips simplex is a species of insect in the genus Thrips in the order Thysanoptera. It is commonly known as the gladiolus thrips and infests gladiolus plants as well as various other monocotyledonous plants such as lilies, irises and freesias.
Thrips simplex is a tiny insect, measuring 2 mm (0.08 in) long, with a long slender brownish-black body with a pale band at the base of the wings. The larvae are wingless and yellow or orange. These thrips live hidden inside the leaf and flower sheaths of their host plants where they suck sap, usually occurring in groups.[1][2] Females may lay about one hundred eggs over the course of a few months and there may be two or three generations each year. The eggs are laid on or in the plant tissues and the larvae suck sap. After two larval stages they develop into non-feeding prepupae and may drop off onto the soil. After a brief pupal stage they become winged adults.[1]