Thrips are tiny, slender insects that you usually notice only when they congregate on flowers, leaves, or stored grain. Their wings, when present, are narrow and fringed with long hairs that act like oars and let them swim through air the way other insects fly.

Most species feed by puncturing plant cells and drinking out the contents, and a few species transmit plant viruses that damage crops. Several species reproduce parthenogenetically in part of their life cycle, which lets a single female found a new infestation.