Banded Greenhouse Thrips vs Arctic Thrips

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Banded Greenhouse Thrips Arctic Thrips
Scientific Name Hercinothrips femoralis Aptinothrips rufus
Order Thysanoptera Thysanoptera
Family Thripidae Thripidae
Size 1.5-2 mm 0.5-1.5 mm
Habitat Gardens Tundra & Arctic
Diet Herbivores Sap Feeders
Regions Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Oceania Arctic and subarctic worldwide, Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland, northern Canada
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Banded Greenhouse Thrips

A large thrips species with banded wings that infests banana, avocado, and ornamental plants. Originally from Africa, it has spread to greenhouses worldwide.

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Did You Know?

This thrips is one of the largest species in the order and can be identified by the distinctive dark bands across its wings.

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.

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Did You Know?

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