Pest profile

Redbanded Thrips

Selenothrips rubrocinctus · Thysanoptera: Thripidae[3]

Redbanded thrips are tiny tropical thrips named for the bright red band across their pale young; they feed on the leaves and fruit of avocado, mango, guava and many other plants, leaving them silvery and spotted with dark excrement.[1][2]

Pale redbanded thrips nymph with a bright red band across its middle on a leaf
Pale redbanded thrips nymph with a bright red band across its middle on a leaf. Photo: Shiwen Yu, public domain (CC0), via iNaturalist

How to identify it

  • Adults are about 1/16 inch (1.2 mm) long, dark brown to black, with dark wings and antennae banded pale and dark.[1][2]
  • Immature stages are pale with a bright red band across the middle.[1][2]
  • Leaves show small pale spots above, with thrips and tiny dark drops of excrement below; heavy feeding russets, silvers and kills leaves.[1]

Where it lives

A tropical-subtropical species, it is found in Florida from Key West to Baker County but mostly from the Orlando area south, and in Hawaii.[2]

US map: public records from 5 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

Females insert tiny kidney-shaped eggs into leaves and fruit and cover each with a small dark blister.[1]

All stages are usually present together, mostly on the inner parts of host plants.[1]

Damage and signs

  • In Florida it infests avocado, guava, mango and sweet gum along with many other trees, shrubs and flowers; it was first known as the cacao thrips.[1][2]

Health risk

None to people or pets.[1][2]

Control

Prevention

Check the inner foliage and leaf undersides of susceptible plants for pale spotting, excrement and red-banded young.[1]

Common questions

What are the tiny insects with a red band on my mango leaves?
Likely young redbanded thrips.[1][2]
Why are my avocado leaves silvery with black specks?
Redbanded thrips feeding bleaches leaves and leaves dark drops of excrement.[1]
Where do redbanded thrips occur in the US?
Mainly central and south Florida, and Hawaii.[2]

Sources

  1. NC State Extension, “Redbanded Thrips on Ornamental Plants.” content.ces.ncsu.edu/redbanded-thrips-on-ornamental-plants (accessed 2026-10-15)
  2. University of Florida IFAS Extension (Featured Creatures), “Redbanded Thrips, Selenothrips rubrocinctus (EENY-099).” ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN256 (accessed 2026-10-15)
  3. iNaturalist, “Selenothrips rubrocinctus taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/271215 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-15. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.