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How to identify it
- Adults are very small: females are 1.1 to 1.5 mm long and males 1.0 to 1.6 mm.[1]
- It comes in a dark (brown) form and a pale (yellow) form that are built the same. Both occur in Florida, where the dark form is more common; the pale form is the one reported from Hawaii.[1][2]
- Under a microscope, the comb of fine teeth on the eighth abdominal segment is weakly developed, the pair of bristles between the hind simple eyes arise close together, and the base of the third antenna segment is smooth rather than flanged.[1][2]
- Like other flower thrips it is found mostly inside blossoms. In Florida cucumber fields nearly all of them were in the flowers, with little or none on the rest of the plant.[1][3]
Look-alikes
| Look-alike | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Florida flower thrips | Shares Florida strawberry blossoms with it, but has a flange at the base of the third antenna segment, thick spines on the second segment, and a well-developed abdominal comb that is broken in the middle.[2] |
| Western flower thrips | Also a Frankliniella flower thrips in Florida crops, but its abdominal comb on segment eight is well developed and complete, and the bristles between the hind simple eyes arise far apart.[2] |
Where it lives
Mainly found in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. US records include central and southern Florida, Colorado and Hawaii. Florida extension calls it native to Africa and most common in the southern part of the state.[1][2]
Biology and life cycle
Females insert their eggs into flower tissue. Two feeding larval stages follow, then a prepupa and a pupa that do not feed.[1]
In a Brazilian study at about 24.5°C (76°F), one generation took about 12.6 days: four days as an egg, about five days as larvae and about three days as prepupa and pupa. Adults lived about 13 days.[1]
It feeds on many plants, with records from 83 species in 35 families. Its main hosts are cotton, peanut, beans and pigeon pea, and it also attacks tomato, sweet potato, coffee, sorghum, chili peppers, onion and sunflower.[1]
In cucumber fields at Homestead, Florida, the thrips first clumped at the field edges, spread out, then gathered in clumps again as numbers rose. Numbers peaked in the fifth week of sampling, averaging 25 and 34 adults per ten flowers in the two autumns studied.[3]
In Florida strawberries it shows up more often where broad-spectrum insecticides such as pyrethroids are used.[2]
Damage and signs
- Adults and larvae feed on pollen and the inside of flowers, which can make flowers drop. Heavy infestations discolor and stunt plants; UF/IFAS photos show discolored cucumber flowers and misshapen cucumber fruit from its feeding.[1]
- Its bigger threat is virus spread. It is one of four Frankliniella thrips that transmit tomato spotted wilt virus in Florida, and the dark form carries at least three other tospoviruses, including tomato chlorotic spot virus and groundnut ringspot virus. The pale form is a weak carrier.[1]
- It has damaged tomato, cotton, lettuce, pepper, cucumber and tobacco in Brazil and tomato, tobacco, cotton, peanut, grain legumes and lettuce in India. UF/IFAS lists it as an invasive thrips with the potential to damage Florida strawberries.[1][2]
- It turned up in low numbers in Florida lettuce fields, along with western flower thrips and tobacco thrips; all three carry impatiens necrotic spot virus and tomato spotted wilt virus.[4]
Health risk
The UF/IFAS sources describe it only as a crop pest and plant-virus carrier; they mention no harm to people.[1][2]
Control
Prevention
In Florida strawberries, cultural controls for thrips include UV-reflective mulch and using less nitrogen fertilizer.[2]
Traps and physical control
Check flowers, where it feeds, or use colored sticky traps. In an Australian study the males came mostly to yellow traps and the females to pink ones. In a Florida cucumber field of about a quarter hectare, researchers found that checking about 51 flowers gave a reliable count.[1][3]
Biological control
Minute pirate bugs and the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii are sold for thrips control, and lady beetles, lacewings and predatory mites occur naturally in Florida strawberry fields. Predatory mites were being tested against this species after they suppressed chilli thrips on pepper.[1][2]
Pesticides
Thrips hidden in flowers are hard to reach with contact sprays and may escape systemic insecticides. Rotate insecticide groups to slow resistance, and avoid broad-spectrum products that kill natural enemies; check UF/IFAS for current Florida recommendations.[2]
Common questions
- Does the common blossom thrips spread tomato spotted wilt?
- Yes. It is one of four Frankliniella species that transmit tomato spotted wilt virus in Florida. The dark form is the effective carrier; the pale form transmits it only weakly.[1]
- Where in the United States does the common blossom thrips occur?
- It has been recorded in central and southern Florida, Colorado and Hawaii, and in Florida it is most common in the south of the state.[1][2]
- How can I tell common blossom thrips from western flower thrips?
- Only with magnification. The common blossom thrips has a weak comb on abdominal segment eight and bristles between the hind simple eyes set close together; the western flower thrips has a full comb and those bristles set far apart.[2]
Sources
- University of Florida IFAS Extension (EDIS), “Common blossom thrips, Frankliniella schultzei Trybom, Featured Creatures EENY-477 (G. Kakkar, D. R. Seal and V. K. Jha, 2010).” journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/118677 (accessed 2026-11-09)
- University of Florida IFAS Extension (EDIS), “Thrips in Florida Strawberry Crops, ENY-882 (J. D. Cluever, H. A. Smith, J. E. Funderburk and G. Frantz, 2015).” journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/129085 (accessed 2026-11-09)
- Bulletin of Entomological Research (Cambridge University Press), “Assessing abundance and distribution of an invasive thrips Frankliniella schultzei in south Florida (Kakkar, Seal and Kumar 2012, Bulletin of Entomological Research 102:249-259), abstract.” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22030382/ (accessed 2026-11-09)
- Insects (MDPI), “Assessing Abundance and Species Composition of Thrips in Florida Lettuce Fields and Optimizing Monitoring Methods (Williams et al. 2026, Insects 17:676).” pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13412098/ (accessed 2026-11-09)
- iNaturalist, “Frankliniella schultzei taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/330693 (accessed 2026-11-09)