Poinsettia Thrips vs Onion Thrips

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Poinsettia Thrips Onion Thrips
Scientific Name Echinothrips americanus Thrips tabaci
Order Thysanoptera Thysanoptera
Family Thripidae Thripidae
Size 1.3-1.7 mm 1-1.3 mm
Habitat Gardens Farmland
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions North America, Europe Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Poinsettia Thrips

A dark brown thrips originally from eastern North America now invasive in European greenhouses. It feeds on a wide range of ornamental plants.

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Did You Know?

Unlike most thrips, this species completes its entire life cycle on the leaf surface and never enters the soil.

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.