Thrips are tiny, slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. They are mostly 1 mm (0.039 in) long or less and fly only weakly, with feathery wings that are unsuitable for conventional flight. Instead, thrips exploit an unusual mechanism, clap and fling, to create lift using an unsteady circulation pattern with transient vortices near the wings. Entomologists have described approximately 7,700 species of thrips.
Thrips are a functionally diverse group, with nearly half of the known species being fungivorous. Some of these serve as vectors for over 20 viruses that cause plant disease, especially the Tospoviruses. Many flower-dwelling species bring benefits as pollinators, with some predatory thrips feeding on small insects or mites. However, a small proportion of species of thrips are serious pests of commercially important crops, and they can cause damage by feeding on plant sap, destroying plant tissues with their chewing mouthparts. Plant leaves may turn pale, splotchy, and silvery, then die. Injured plants are twisted, discolored, and scarred. Thrips are hard to detect with the naked eye, and they can be difficult to get rid of once they infest a plant.
