Subject: Biting Bugs
Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
August 8, 2012 12:38 pm
I live in Iowa and I was just outside(it rained earlier today) and I kept feeling little bites all over my hands and arms. At first I couldn’t see anything but if I looked very close I saw a TINY, no bigger than a dot of a pen, orange bug possibly a little blackish brown on it’s bottom with 6(?)legs crawling on me. And there wasn’t just one, they were everywhere and they all were bitting me. I didn’t sit in the grass or touch anything so I have no idea how they got on me or if they even came from the outside. Help!
Signature: Melissa

Possibly Thrips

Hi Melissa,
Based on your detailed description, we believe you might have had an encounter with insects from the order Thysanoptera, commonly called Thrips.  There is not enough detail in your photograph for any definitive identification, but the photograph does support our supposition.  According to BugGuide, Thrips are small:  “0.5-14 mm (typically 1-2 mm, NA species under 5 mm)” and they are described as:  “Some are wingless; where present, the wings are narrow with few or no veins and fringed with long hairs. Mouthparts asymmetrical (no right mandible), suitable for piercing and sucking. Antennae relatively short, 4- to 9-segmented; tarsi 1-2-segmented, with 1-2 claws and are bladder-like at the end.”  This is the BugGuide statement that supports our identification:  “Thrips can often be found on flowers, they are especially visible on light colored flowers like daisies. Be aware that though they are very tiny, they can give a slightly painful bite.”

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Insect id
Location: Madrid (Spain)
October 1, 2011 7:24 pm
I’m trying to find what bug is this, but I cannot find nothing nowhere.
Thanks for the help.
Signature: blackberriem

Thrips

Hi Maria,
We do not recognize your insect, and since we took the day off yesterday unexpectedly, we need to try to respond to as many requests as we can this morning.  We are posting your insect as unidentified and we hope to try to research this later, and perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide us with some assistance.

Eric Eaton confirms Thrips identification
Yes, it is a thrips, but not sure which family, let alone genus, species. …
Eric

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Insect identification
Location: Southern Ca
May 14, 2011 1:24 pm
These little bugs walk/crawl but they also jump. Naked eye they look dark and can see two little antenna at the head. Sorry the pix are not as lit up as I would have liked. I live in the high desert of San Bernardino County in Southern Ca. I planted a Marijuana plant in my back yard with Promix potting soiless mix. These little critters are swarming around the mix. I put some dish liquid soap in with my nutrient solution when watering and it seemed to knock them down a lot but not gone. I have found them inside my home as well (this morning there were approx 7 of them in my bathroom sink). Can you tell me what they are and if they are harmful to Marijuna plants? And what is the best defense if they are? Thanks Bugman!!
Signature: Outlaw

Thrips, possibly

Dear Outlaw,
We believe you have Thrips.  Despite your awesome photomicroscopy, we still find the anatomy of this critter a bit confusing and we do not have the necessary experience to identify this insect with certainty, however, we feel that based on the information we do have, that Thrips seems like the likeliest candidate.  Perhaps someone more knowledgeable will be able to provide a definitive identification.  Here is a link to the Thrips order Thysanoptera on BugGuide.  BugGuide notes:  “The word thrips is singular and plural; there is no such word as “thrip” (in other words, “I saw a thrips” is an example of correct usage). The word thrips itself is said to be from a Greek word, meaning “wood louse” or woodworm, referring to their abundance in dead branches, where they feed on fungus.”  BugGuide offers this assistance with identification:  “Thrips are tiny insects, only a few mm in length at most. Thrips may or may not have wings. When wings are present, they are narrow with few or no veins and fringed with long hairs. Thrips have asymmetrical mouthparts (no right mandible) suitable for piercing and sucking. Antennae of thrips have four to nine segments and are relatively short. Tarsi of thrips have one or two segments with one or two claws and are bladder-like at the end.”

Thrips, we believe

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Update: January 11, 2011
Location Malaysia
Dear Daniel,
I managed to get better pictures of the thrips, they are identified as Western Flower Thrips. See attached files.
They are a major pest for greenhouse growers and very difficult to control.
Cheers,
Kenny

Thanks for the update on your Western Flower Thrips.  Now we have to determine if the singular form of Thrips is Thrip.  This Earthlife page uses the singular Thrip.  Perhaps it is a moot point since a gardener would never have just one Thrip.

Update: May 15, 2011
Upon posting a new possible Thrips photo, we discovered this comment on Csiro:  “The word thrips, is grammatically a plural noun, as is the word sheep. Therefore a single thrips is still ‘a thrips’ (not a thrip), just as one sheep is ‘a sheep’ (not a ship!).”

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Bug on Melon Trees
Location: Malaysia
December 4, 2010 2:00 am
Hi, I am having problems with my melon crops within a netted green house. Location is in Malaysia (tropical climate).
The melon plants grows as usual during the first 2 weeks, after that the grown is stunned and clustering of leaf on the top of the plant becomes apparent. Eventually the plant shoots will dry up and the leaf becomes hard and brittle.
I have lost a few thousand plants due to this.
Recently we have spotted these tiny insects on the leafs and could be the answer to the problems. They are very thin and the length is about 1mm long.
They crawl around the leafs like ants and doesnt seem to fly or hop.
I have not have any luck identifying the class of this pest, in order to determine the right insecticide to use.
Sorry for the poor quality image, hope this will help.z
Signature: Kenny

Possibly Thrips

Hi Kenny,
We cannot make out enough detail in your photo to be certain about an identification, however, you may have Thrips.  We will link to the BugGuide page on Thrips in the order Thysanoptera.  Even though you may have Thrips, we do not believe they are responsible for your high melon mortality rate.  There are other insects that bore in the stems of melons and related plants, and there may be something destroying the roots.  You may want to read this website on the control of Squash Vine Borers, a North American Moth as there may be a Malaysian relative with similar feeding habits.  We are posting your letter in the hopes that one of our readers may have a positive suggestion.  Good luck with your melon crop.

Brian from United States Department of Agriculture comments
As always great job!  Had to comment on this one.  The Thrips can very well be killing these melon plants.  Its well known that thrips are vectors of plant diseases.   “Over 20 plant infecting viruses are known to be transmitted by thrips. These enveloped viruses are considered among some of the most damaging of emerging plant pathogens around the world.”  Their feeding spreads the disease from plant to plant as the suck the juices from an infected plant and move on to a healthy plant and then inoculating it. Its like an contaminated hypodermic needle spreading a disease every time it is use on a new patient.
#1 Fan
Brian
aphis.usda.gov

Thanks so much Brian.  Your comment was a nice treat after a long, rough day.

Update: January 11, 2011
Dear Daniel,
I managed to get better pictures of the thrips, they are identified as Western Flower Thrips. See attached files.
They are a major pest for greenhouse growers and very difficult to control.
Cheers,
Kenny

Thrip

Thanks for the update on your Western Flower Thrips.  Now we have to determine if the singular form of Thrips is Thrip.

Thrip

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Confused Conservationists
Hi there friends at What’s That Bug,
I am writing from the Niagara Region in Ontario Canada….a team of our field staff from the Conservation Authority came across this mass on a tree and even our entomologist is stumped….we tried to send it to you back in June but didn’t hear back from you….we understand that you receive a high volume. Any help with the ID of these critters would be most helpful. They are doing a lot of damage in one particular area of this forest. Thanks and we love your site!!!!
dee

Hi Dee,
Other than suspecting that these are Beetle Larvae, we cannot provide you with any information. This type of aggregation would indicate a food source like perhaps fungus. Are you certain the larvae are responsible for the damage? It is possible something else is weakening the trees and the beetles are feeding on fungus on a damaged tree. Your letter did not really describe the damage. We will contact Eric Eaton to see if he can provide any information. We strongly recommend that you post your images to BugGuide.net as individuals can write in an comment and there are many knowledgeable contributors.

Update: (08/30/2008)
Daniel:
I have no idea on the larval aggregation, though in some respects they actually resemble thrips rather than beetle larvae. I’ll be interested to learn the consensus should the images be posted to Bugguide. An indication of size would also help immensely. … If I learn anything more about the red and black “beetle” larvae, I’ll let you know.
Eric

Update: 20 September 2008
Red Tube-tailed Thrips
A fellow by the name of Ken Ramos actually tracked down the ID, from some of his own pictures of similar beasts.
See http://www.photomacrography. net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5888 .
Hope this helps!
Rik

Thanks Rik,
We will also be linking to the BugGuide page on the family Phlaeothripidae, the Tube Tailed Thrips.

Update: Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 9:48 AM
The Red and Black Thrips posted by the Canadians is Hoplandrothrips brunneicornis.  I intercepted specimens coming from Ontario on firewood and sent them to the Smithsonian.  The adults were black and the immatures were red.  They inhabited logs with fungal rot and fungus beetle larvae on them.  The adults had enlarged front legs almost raptorial like a predator.   However, most thrips are plant feeders.  So it’s a mystery if they were feeding on the fungus or the fungus beetle larvae.  Not much literature exists about this species.

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Thrips photos for you, if you wish.
Here are a few photos I took of some thrips. The second photo shows a thrips between two butterfly (Blue morpho) eggs. The forth photo shows a thrips beside a dead white fly (plant pest). The fifth photo (71614639) shows a thrips beside, I think, a dead fruit fly. You may add them, if you wish, into your thrips ID catalog.
RS

Dear RS,
Though you did not indicate your location, because of the tropical Morpho eggs, we are guessing that you are associated with one of the numerous butterfly exhibits that have sprung up across the country. Here is Los Angeles, our yearly summer butterfly exhibit at the Museum of Natural History is called the “Pavilion of Wings”. Your Macro Photographs are wonderful. We are posting some that show both side view and top view as well as the leaf photograph that shows the scale of these miniscule insects that range from 1/2 to 3 millimeters in length. Some Thrips are winged and others not. Some Thrips are plant pests and others are predators. According to the Audubon Guide, there are over 600 species in North America.

Hello whatsthatbug,
Thanks for the reply. Sorry about the incomplete information. Your guess about an association with a butterfly exhibit is correct. I am a very frequent visitor to the Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory and Gardens in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, up here in New England; and open 364 days of the year.

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