{"id":1222,"date":"2026-08-15T14:34:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T18:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/entomologyresearch\/?p=1222"},"modified":"2026-08-15T14:51:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T18:51:58","slug":"shot-spined-thrips-thrips-parvispinus-in-ornamentals-an-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/entomologyresearch\/2026\/08\/shot-spined-thrips-thrips-parvispinus-in-ornamentals-an-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Short-spined thrips (Thrips parvispinus) in Ornamentals: An update"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Short-spined thrips (Thrips parvispinus<\/em>) (Fig. 1) remains an insect worth watching in Georgia. Although the insect has received increasing attention because of its potential to affect ornamental plants, its current presence in Georgia’s ornamental plant industry is still being monitored. Recent observations from our surveys suggest that we are currently detecting this pest in retail stores more than in the Georgia nurseries we surveyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fig. 1. Short-spined thrips inside the flowers of mandevilla (red or green arrows). Photos: Navdeep Kaur, University of Georgia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During our ongoing surveys, we have repeatedly encountered short-spined thrips on mandevilla or dipladenia plants at retail stores, mostly in the flowers (Fig. 1). We have found the insect at multiple major retail outlets, including Walmart, Kroger, Lowe’s, and Home Depot. Interestingly, mandevilla and dipladenia have been the plants on which we have consistently detected short-spined thrips during these observations. Although mandevilla and dipladenia are not widely produced commercially in Georgia, they are commonly brought into the state through wholesale plant distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In comparison, our surveys of Georgia nurseries have not detected short-spined thrips to date. We also have not received reports from nursery growers experiencing an infestation problem caused by this thrips. These observations do not mean that the pest is absent from Georgia production systems, but they provide an important snapshot of what we are currently observing. Thus, continued monitoring is important. Growers should keep a close eye on their crops and watch for thrips or signs of feeding damage. If you suspect short-spined thrips in your plants, we encourage you to report your observations and seek confirmation of the thrips identity. Sharing information about new detections can help us better understand where this pest is occurring and whether its distribution in Georgia is changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearly, feeding on young, developing tissue causes leaves to deform and curl as they expand (Fig. 2). Extensive damage on new shoots makes the plant stunted, and the severely damaged plants are challenging to sell (Fig. 3). Feeding damage can be found on the flowers as well (Fig. 4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As our surveys continue, we will continue to monitor the incidence and share additional updates on short-spined thrips in Georgia. Please let us know when you find them in your plants at svjoseph@uga.edu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fig. 2. Short-spined thrips feeding damage on mandevilla leaves. Photos: Navdeep Kaur, University of Georgia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fig. 3. Severely damaged young shoots of mandevilla leaves. Photos: Navdeep Kaur, University of Georgia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fig. 4. Feeding damage from short-spined thrips on flower petals as brown necrotic tissue. Photos: Navdeep Kaur, University of Georgia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Reference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Vavilapalli, R., N.  Kaur, E. N. Schoeller, M. Z. Ahmed, A. M\u00e9sz\u00e1ros, D.-F. Mou, A. M. Revynthi, P. Yu, A. N. Sparks, J. LaForest, B. L. Campbell and S. V. Joseph. 2026. Biology, Ecology, and Management of Thrips parvispinus<\/em> (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). J Integre. Pest Mange. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/jipm\/pmag011<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Short-spined thrips (Thrips parvispinus) (Fig. 1) remains an insect worth watching in Georgia. Although the insect has received increasing attention because of its potential to affect ornamental plants, its current presence in Georgia’s ornamental plant industry is still being monitored. Recent observations from our surveys suggest that we are currently detecting this pest in retail […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-invasive","category-ornamental-pests"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/entomologyresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/entomologyresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/entomologyresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/entomologyresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/entomologyresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1222"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/entomologyresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1231,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/entomologyresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222\/revisions\/1231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/entomologyresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/entomologyresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/entomologyresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}