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YELLOW TEA THRIP FACTS |
Identification
The Yellow Tea Thrip is yellow with dark antennae and dark stripes on the lower abdomen. It is an invasive species of pest thrip that originated in Asia and is spreading world wide.
Other Names
Chilli thrip, Strawberry thrip
Size
less than 1mm long
Food
Yellow Tea Thrip is a pest of economic significance feeding on a wide range of host plants including pepper, citrus, mango, strawberry, grapes, cotton and roses. The thrips feed on new growth, and causes leaves to wrinkle with brown scars along the leaf veins, flower buds and fruit calyx. Thrip damage can reduce the value of crops produced, and in severe infestations can kill weakened plants.
Breeding
Female thrips lay eggs singly within young leaves and buds at the growing tip of the plant, or on surface of mature leaves. The eggs hatch after one to three weeks depending on temperature. The larvae feed on new growth. The larvae drop off the plant to pupate in loose soil or leaf litter at the base of the food plant, or they may pupate low on the plant in a dark humid crevice in bark or folds of leaves. Populations will continue to grow as long as their are new shoots for food. the lifecycle from egg to adult can complete in just under two weeks in ideal conditions.
Range
The Yellow Tea Thrip is found in Queensland, New South Wales and Northern Territory
Classification
| Class: | Insecta | | Order: | Thysanoptera | | Family: | Thripidae | | Genus: | Scirtothrips | | Species: | dorsalis | | Common Name: | Yellow Tea Thrip |
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