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How to identify it
- Adult females are about 1 mm long and dark: UF/IFAS describes them as dark brown, and the Queensland Government as bright orange and black. In northern Florida some are two-toned, with the head and thorax paler than the abdomen.[1][2]
- Males are smaller, about 0.75 mm, and pale straw-colored.[2]
- The clear wings have a fringe of hairs around the edge. A 10x hand lens makes the adults easy to see.[2]
- Larvae are wingless, smaller than adults, and pale to almost transparent.[2]
- It lives mostly inside flowers rather than on leaves. On bananas, females hide under the bracts or inside flowers, while males sit on the outside of the bracts.[1][3][2]
Look-alikes
| Look-alike | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Melon thrips | Also a Thrips species on ornamentals in the Southeast, but it is pale yellow, and its partly darkened wings form a dark stripe down the back when folded.[1] |
Where it lives
Native to Asia and the Pacific, and now found in Asia, Australia, the Americas, Africa and Europe. In the United States, UF/IFAS lists it among the thrips that breed in ornamental flowers in the Southeast, including northern Florida.[3][1]
Biology and life cycle
Females lay eggs just under the surface of plant tissue; on bananas they use young fruit and the bunch stalk. Two active larval stages are followed by two or three pupal stages.[2][1]
On a banana bunch the whole life cycle takes about three weeks.[2]
It has a wide host range that includes ornamental plants, fruits and vegetables, but it does better on some hosts than others. In a Chinese study, females were drawn to the scent of southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) flowers, one of its preferred hosts.[3]
In banana-growing areas of northern Queensland it is active all year, and fruit harvested in winter or spring is usually the most damaged, which points to peak activity after the wet season.[2]
Damage and signs
- On bananas, feeding causes corky scab: slightly raised grey-brown to silvery patches that turn into brown, corky scabs. Damage is mostly on the outer curve of the fruit near where it joins the stalk, and the bottom hands, closest to the male flower, are most at risk.[2]
- Egg-laying leaves tiny raised spots with a dark center on young banana fruit. They become almost unnoticeable as the fruit grows and matter little.[2]
- Feeding and egg-laying also leave dark brown to black bumps on banana flower buds, which are also used for food and medicine.[4]
- In ornamental flowers it is one of the thrips that gather and breed inside the blooms.[1]
Health risk
The sources describe it only as a plant pest of flowers and fruit; they mention no harm to people.[2][1]
Control
Prevention
On bananas, observations and growers' reports suggest overhead irrigation prevents corky scab in most situations. Removing the male bell, where adults gather once all the hands are exposed, may also help, though it has not been tested.[2]
Traps and physical control
Colored sticky traps and scent lures are more useful for telling when the thrips are present than for reducing their numbers.[4]
Biological control
Predatory bugs, lady beetles and lacewings help reduce thrips numbers on bananas.[2]
Pesticides
Insecticides are the main field control for banana flower thrips, but they bring residue, resistance and pest-resurgence problems. In Queensland, cover sprays are not recommended because they disrupt beneficial insects; injecting insecticide into the developing bunch has prevented corky scab in the north of the state. Numbers of thrips do not track damage closely, so check local extension advice before spraying.[4][2]
Common questions
- What causes brown corky scabs on homegrown bananas?
- Banana flower thrips (Thrips hawaiiensis) cause corky scab. Their feeding first leaves raised grey-brown to silvery patches that turn brown and corky, mostly on the outer curve of the fruit and on the bottom hands of the bunch.[2]
- Is the Hawaiian flower thrips found on the US mainland?
- Yes. UF/IFAS lists it among the thrips breeding in ornamental flowers in the southeastern United States, including northern Florida.[1]
- What does the Hawaiian flower thrips look like?
- Females are about 1 mm long and dark brown, or orange and black; males are smaller and pale straw-colored. Adults have clear wings fringed with hairs.[1][2]
Sources
- University of Florida IFAS Extension (EDIS), “Thrips of Ornamentals in the Southeastern US, ENY-845 (J. Funderburk, S. Diffie, J. Sharma, A. Hodges and L. Osborne, 2007).” journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/117083 (accessed 2026-11-09)
- Business Queensland, Queensland Government, “Banana flower thrips (Thrips hawaiiensis).” business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/biosecurity/plants/insects/horticultural/banana-flower-thrips (accessed 2026-11-09)
- Insects (MDPI), “Electrophysiological and Behavioral Responses of Thrips hawaiiensis to the Floral Volatiles of Magnolia grandiflora (Insects 2025, 16:633).” pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12193323/ (accessed 2026-11-09)
- PLoS ONE, “Effects of flower thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on nutritional quality of banana (Zingiberales: Musaceae) buds (PLoS ONE 2018, 13:e0202199).” pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6086469/ (accessed 2026-11-09)
- iNaturalist, “Thrips hawaiiensis taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/417798 (accessed 2026-11-09)