Poinsettia Thrips vs Scarlet-Bodied Pergid Sawfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Poinsettia Thrips Scarlet-Bodied Pergid Sawfly
Scientific Name Echinothrips americanus Perga kirbyi
Order Thysanoptera Hymenoptera
Family Thripidae Pergidae
Size 1.3-1.7 mm 16-24 mm
Habitat Gardens Woodlands
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions North America, Europe Australia
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.

Scarlet-Bodied Pergid Sawfly

A large, robustly built Australian sawfly with a bright scarlet to red-orange abdomen and dark head and thorax. Its spitfire larvae feed on eucalyptus in tight clusters.

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Did You Know?

Adult females demonstrate rare parental care for an insect by guarding their egg batch and early-instar larvae on the eucalyptus leaf.