Indigenous thrips
Pest insect
- Presence of white or yellow larvae
- Silvery streaks on leaf surfaces
- Small black spots near damaged areas
- Presence of yellow, beige, or pale brown adults
- Leaf yellowing and necrosis
| Difficulty High |
| Frquency High |
| Reproductive rate Up to 100x |
| Lifecycle Up to 50 days |
Indigenous thrips are among the most common and dreaded pests for both professional and amateur gardeners. This soft-bodied, elongated insect causes significant damage to the foliage of infected plants. Its complex life cycle makes treatment relatively demanding.
Host plants
While all types of plants are susceptible to infestation by indigenous thrips, they are more concentrated in greenhouse crops of fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants. They can also attack cacti and succulents.
Screening
Adult indigenous thrips typically measure about one millimeter in length. They appear as small yellow or beige hyphen-like shapes to the naked eye. Similar to tropical thrips, the damage they cause on leaf surfaces is characteristic, forming irregular silvery streaks. They produce biological waste in the form of black spots stuck near the damaged areas.
Prevention
Indigenous thrips are adapted to the continental climate and are naturally present in this environment. They can be introduced from outside through people, plants, or other contaminated objects. Stratiolaelaps scimitus and Neoseiulus cucumeris sachets are excellent preventive agents.
Treatment
Treating thrips may involve removing heavily affected plants or leaves, repeated foliar treatments, and multiple introductions of natural predators to target different growth stages simultaneously. Unlike tropical thrips, indigenous thrips pupate in the soil. In addition to Stratiolaelaps and nematodes, the use of bulk cucumeris and Orius or chrysopes is also preferred.
In severe cases, treatment can be very difficult, even impossible, and complete elimination or pruning of the plant should be considered.
Products
Morphology
The two species of indigenous thrips in the continental climate are Frankliniella occidentalis, better known as the western flower thrips, and Thrips tabaci, or onion thrips. In both cases, the adult is slender, yellow, beige, or pale brown, with pale wings resembling feathers. Its wings are used more for short hops than flying.
Behaviour
Thrips tabaci is native to North America, while Frankliniella occidentalis is native to the western part of the continent. Both are smaller and faster than tropical thrips and represent the majority of thrips found in greenhouse crops worldwide.
Lifecycle
These two subspecies of indigenous thrips have a four-stage development cycle, which occurs simultaneously in different parts of the plant: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Females lay their eggs inside leaves and stems, and larvae emerge after a few days. The larvae initially feed within the foliage, then drop to the ground to pupate. Once adults, indigenous thrips climb back to the foliage to mate and reproduce.