Predatory Thrips

In most cases, thrips are pests. Their feeding causes stippling, stunting, and scarring. Some varieties of thrips can even spread tomato spotted wilt and other diseases. But some thrips are predators

Black hunter thrips on finger (imgur)

These tiny hunters may not look like much to us, but predatory thrips are other thrips’ worst enemy. In fact, predatory thrips control other thrips more effectively than other natural enemies. Mites, spider mites, and whiteflies are in the same boat. Predatory thrips are worth their weight in gold.

These tiny hunters share many traits with their prey. Males are rare and females can produce offspring without mating. Predatory thrips also eat plant material, but they cannot survive without eating meat. ​

Banded-wing thrips (Robert Webster) CC BY-SA 4.0

While most thrips congregate in massive numbers, predatory thrips tend to be loners. There are four major species of predatory thrips:

• Banded-wing thrips (Aeolothrips spp.) have black bodies and white wings with black bands. Larvae are yellow.
• Black hunter thrips (Haplothrips mali) are dark brown or black with white wings, long abdomens. They look like greenhouse thrips but are more active. Larvae are dark red to brown.
• Franklinothrips spp. (Franklinothrips orizabensis or F. vespiformis) are mostly black with white patches and particularly narrow where the thorax meets the abdomen. Larvae are yellow to orange and fat around the middle. You may also see a red or dark orange band around the middle.
• Six-spotted thrips (Scolothrips sexmaculatus) are pale yellow with three dark spots on each forewing. Larvae are yellow to white.

'Franklinothrips' (Mark S. Hoddle, UC)

'Franklinothrips' nymph (Mark S. Hoddle, UC)

Like other thrips, these insects are vulnerable to broad-spectrum insecticides and pesticides, horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps, so leave them as a last resort. Instead, create a habitat that attracts these and other beneficial insects. Your predatory thrips need food, water, and shelter, like every other living thing. You can buy predatory thrips. Or, you can simply provide a water source and a variety of places to hide, and these garden helpers will find your garden on their own.