Onion Thrips vs Gall-forming Thrips

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Onion Thrips Gall-forming Thrips
Scientific Name Thrips tabaci Klambothrips myopori
Order Thysanoptera Thysanoptera
Family Thripidae Phlaeothripidae
Size 1-1.3 mm 1.0-1.5 mm
Habitat Farmland Beaches & Coastal
Diet Herbivores Gall Makers
Regions Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania Oceania, North America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Onion Thrips

A cosmopolitan pest of onions, garlic, and many other crops. It can reproduce both sexually and parthenogenetically and transmits iris yellow spot virus.

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Did You Know?

Onion thrips can reproduce without mating through parthenogenesis, allowing a single female to establish an entire infestation.

Gall-forming Thrips

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

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Did You Know?

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