Life cycle and damage of Scirthothrips

The life cycle of Scirtothrips dorsalis consists of six stages: egg, two larval instars, pre-pupa, pupa, and adult. Eggs are inserted into plant tissue, making them difficult to detect. Females can lay up to 100 eggs in the youngest plant tissues. Eggs are oval, whitish to yellow and kidney shaped. Nymphs are tiny, slender, fragile and yellowish straw in colour. Adults has heavily fringed wings and grey in colour. Life cycle is short and completed in 15 to 20 days as many as 25 overlapping generations per year. Reproduction is both by sexual and partheno-generic.

Larvae and adults feed on the underside of leaves, creating silvering, curling, and deformities in leaves and fruits. This feeding behavior also weakens plants by reducing photosynthetic capacity and may lead to secondary infections.