If you have ever felt tiny but slightly painful bites from tiny orange insects while you are outside, you might have encountered an order of insects commonly known as Thrips (scientific name – Thysanoptera).
Thrips are really tiny insects that appear orange or yellow (some readers have even described them as tiny brown bugs that bite) to the naked eye.
Thrips are tiny. They measure between 0.5 mm (almost microscopic) to 14 mm (size of a typical board game dice) in length. Most North American thrips are 5 mm in length. To put that into context, 5 mm is half a centimeter or the size of a pencil top eraser.
Thrips
Thrips are mostly found outside the house. It is not uncommon to see these tiny orange bugs crawling on your skin when you are out for a walk in the summer. While they are not harmful, their bite can be a little sharp.
Over the years, we have been frequently asked questions around Thrips that we have answered below.
Do these tiny orange bugs bite?
Yes, thrips are tiny biting bugs. Normally, they prefer to suck on flowers, but if they come in contact with humans, they can bite.
Their bite can cause Thysanoptera Dermatitis. While it sounds like a disease, thrips bites look and feel like mosquito bites and heal themselves naturally in a few days. They may cause itchy, pink-colored lesions, mostly on your hands and legs.
Can thrips spread disease?
Although thrips do not cause any known diseases in humans, they are carriers of several plant viruses of the Tospovirus, Carmovirus, Ilarvirus, Sobemovirus, and Machlomovirus genera.
Among these, Tospoviruses are the ones that can cause diseases such as capsicum chlorosis and scape blight of onion.
Are they harmful to humans or pets?
No, thrips are not harmful to either humans or pets.
Their bite can sting for a while, but topical lotions should be able to soothe you. You should wash the bite with soap and hot water to reduce the itchiness.
Having said that, we are not medical professionals and if you are dealing with an insect bite that is not getting better, it is best to seek professional medical attention.
Can thrips get in the house?
Yes, they can. While you are most likely to find these biting bugs in the grass or on outdoor plants, thrips can, on occasion, come inside and affect your indoor house plants too.
How to get rid of thrips?
To get rid of thrips, you can blast them with hot water to get them off your garden plants. If you find these tiny yellow bugs in your house or infesting your indoor plants, a soap water solution sprinkled on the leaves should be able to get them out.
Where do thrips lay their eggs?
Thrips lay their eggs on the soft tissues of plants. This can include places like:
- Young leaves, leaf buds, and leaf stems
- Inside fruits and flowers
- Soft-wood stems
- Flower buds
Thrips can cause galls, a kind of bloated plant material sticking out of the infected plant. They can also lay their eggs in tiny wedges or nooks in the plant.
Another place that you will find these tiny yellow bugs leaving their eggs on is the underside of leaves.
One of the species (the Tubulifera sub-order) uses a special glue made of proteins and other compounds to attach their eggs to leaves.
This glue is very difficult to remove and helps protects the eggs from falling down during rain or when it is windy.
What are thrips attracted to?
The F. Instonsa thrips are attracted to the color white. But in general, thrips are attracted to blue, yellow, and then white-colored sticky traps. These traps are designed to collect thrips and keep them away from plants to protect crops.
Readers’ Mail
We received this mail from a reader bitten by Thrips
Subject: Biting Bugs
Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
August 8, 2012 12:38 pm
I live in Iowa and I was just outside (it rained earlier today) and I kept feeling little bites all over my hands and arms. At first I couldn’t see anything but if I looked very close I saw a TINY, no bigger than a dot of a pen, orange bug possibly a little blackish brown on it’s bottom with 6(?)legs crawling on me.
And there wasn’t just one, they were everywhere and they all were bitting me. I didn’t sit in the grass or touch anything so I have no idea how they got on me or if they even came from the outside. Help!
Signature: Melissa
Possibly Thrips
Hi Melissa,
Based on your detailed description, we believe you might have had an encounter with insects from the order Thysanoptera, commonly called Thrips. There is not enough detail in your photograph for any definitive identification, but the photograph does support our supposition.
According to BugGuide
Thrips are small: 0.5-14 mm (typically 1-2 mm, NA species under 5 mm). Some are wingless; where present, the wings are narrow with few or no veins and fringed with long hairs. Mouthparts asymmetrical (no right mandible), suitable for piercing and sucking. Antennae relatively short, 4- to 9-segmented; tarsi 1-2-segmented, with 1-2 claws and are bladder-like at the end.
This is the BugGuide statement that supports our identification:
Thrips can often be found on flowers, they are especially visible on light colored flowers like daisies. Be aware that though they are very tiny, they can give a slightly painful bite.
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