Tobacco Thrips vs Predatory Stink Bug

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Tobacco Thrips Predatory Stink Bug
Scientific Name Frankliniella fusca Eocanthecona furcellata
Order Thysanoptera Hemiptera
Family Thripidae Pentatomidae
Size 1-1.5 mm 12-16 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Pollen Feeders Predators
Regions North America South and Southeast Asia, Australia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Tobacco Thrips

A major pest of tobacco, peanut, and cotton seedlings in the southeastern United States. It transmits tomato spotted wilt virus to multiple crop species.

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Did You Know?

Tobacco thrips can overwinter in soil and leaf litter, emerging in spring to attack new seedlings before natural predators become active.

Predatory Stink Bug

A medium-sized predatory shield bug used as a biological control agent in Asia and Australia. It feeds on caterpillars and other pest insects in cotton and vegetable crops. Adults are brown with an elongated head.

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Did You Know?

It is mass-reared in insectaries and released into cotton fields as a biological control agent against Helicoverpa bollworm, one of the world's worst crop pests.