Onion Thrips vs Spicebush Swallowtail

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Onion Thrips Spicebush Swallowtail
Scientific Name Thrips tabaci Papilio troilus
Order Thysanoptera Lepidoptera
Family Thripidae Papilionidae
Size 1-1.3 mm Wingspan 90-130mm
Habitat Farmland Underground
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

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.

💡

Did You Know?

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

Spicebush Swallowtail

A dark swallowtail butterfly with blue-green hindwing scaling and orange spots. Its caterpillar has large false eyespots making it resemble a small snake.

💡

Did You Know?

The young caterpillar mimics a bird dropping while the older caterpillar switches to mimicking a green tree snake.