Arctic Thrips vs Gall-forming Thrips

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Arctic Thrips Gall-forming Thrips
Scientific Name Aptinothrips rufus Klambothrips myopori
Order Thysanoptera Thysanoptera
Family Thripidae Phlaeothripidae
Size 0.5-1.5 mm 1.0-1.5 mm
Habitat Tundra & Arctic Beaches & Coastal
Diet Sap Feeders Gall Makers
Regions Arctic and subarctic worldwide, Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland, northern Canada Oceania, North America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Arctic Thrips

A tiny, wingless thrips that feeds on grasses in Arctic and subarctic habitats. Its brown body is barely visible without magnification. Populations reproduce parthenogenetically in the Arctic where males are absent.

💡

Did You Know?

This thrips can reproduce without males through parthenogenesis, a useful adaptation in Arctic habitats where finding a mate would be difficult.

Gall-forming Thrips

A tiny Australian thrips that induces galls on Myoporum plants. It was introduced to California as a biocontrol agent.

💡

Did You Know?

This thrips was deliberately released in Hawaii and California to control invasive Myoporum trees.