Thrips
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Thrips  Thrips are tiny, slender insects with fringed wings. They feed by puncturing their host and sucking out the cell contents. Certain thrips species are beneficial predators that feed only on mites and other insects. Pest species (often in the family Thripidae) are plant feeders that scar leaf, flower, or fruit surfaces or distort plant parts. Other species of thrips feed on fungal spores and pollen and are innocuous. Thrips are small, elongated, cylindrical insects, up to ¼ in(4mm) long. Color ranges from white/yellow to brown/black. Larvae resemble adults but without wings. Also see onion thrips and greenhouse thrips. Susceptible Plants- thrips feed on a large range of indoor and outdoor plants. Symptoms- Thrips prefer to feed in rapidly growing tissue. Feeding by thrips typically causes tiny scars on leaves and fruit, called stippling, and can stunt growth. Damaged leaves may become papery and distorted. Infested terminals may discolor, become rolled, and drop leaves prematurely
Prevention and Control- Thrips species that feed on many different plant species often move into gardens and landscapes when plants in weedy areas or grasslands begin to dry in spring or summer, so it is wise to avoid planting susceptible plants next to these areas or to control nearby weeds that are alternate hosts of certain thrips. In small gardens, thrips can be knocked off plants with a spray of water.
Vigorous plants normally outgrow thrips damage; keep plants well watered, but avoid excessive applications of nitrogen fertilizer, which may promote higher populations of thrips. Remove and dispose of old, spent flowers. Investigate the availability of resistant cultivars.
Prune and destroy injured and infested terminals when managing a few small specimen plants in the landscape/ Row covers, hot caps, and other types of cages can exclude thrips and other pests from vegetables and other young herbaceous plants. Biological Control - Predatory thrips other beneficial insects and mites, including Pirate Bugs: Orius insidiosis, , Thrips Predator Mites: Amblyseius cucumeris, Pesticical Control- Garden Insect Spray Concentrate With Spinosad, Purespray Organic Horticultural Spray Oil for Insect & Disease Control, and Organocide Organic Insecticide & Fungicide
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