Bug FAQChilli Thrips
Scirtothrips dorsalis · Order: Thysanoptera · Family: Thripidae
Also called: Thrips
Source: Wikipedia
Chilli thrips are tiny insects under a millimeter long with yellow bodies and dark stripes on the lower abdomen. They feed on new growth of a wide range of crops such as pepper, mango, citrus, strawberries, grapes, cotton, tea, peanuts, blueberries and roses, and their feeding creates wrinkled leaves and brown scars on veins, buds and fruit. Under optimal warm and humid conditions they can develop from egg to adult in just under two weeks.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults are yellow with dark striping on the lower abdomen.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
They are less than one millimeter long.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
Infested plants show characteristic wrinkled leaves and brown scarring along leaf veins, flower buds and fruit calyx.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They live in loose soil, leaf litter at the base of host plants, and in dark, humid crevices low on the plant.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
They originate from Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
What is called Scirtothrips dorsalis actually includes three or more genetically distinct but morphologically similar species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 2 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Kansas, California.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How quickly do chilli thrips develop?
Under optimal warm and humid conditions they can go from egg to adult in just under two weeks.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I recognize adult chilli thrips?
Adults are tiny (under 1 mm), yellow, and have dark striping on the lower abdomen.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Thripidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scirtothrips_dorsalis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.