Chilli Thrips vs Arctic Thrips

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Chilli Thrips Arctic Thrips
Scientific Name Scirtothrips dorsalis Aptinothrips rufus
Order Thysanoptera Thysanoptera
Family Thripidae Thripidae
Size 0.8-1.2 mm 0.5-1.5 mm
Habitat Gardens Tundra & Arctic
Diet Herbivores Sap Feeders
Regions Asia, North America, Central America, Oceania Arctic and subarctic worldwide, Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland, northern Canada
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Chilli Thrips

A tiny pale yellow thrips that is an invasive pest of peppers, strawberries, and ornamental plants. It causes severe scarring and distortion of new growth.

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Did You Know?

Chilli thrips are so tiny that they can pass through standard window screens, making them very difficult to exclude from greenhouses.

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.