Thripinae

There are about 1500 described species in this subfamily, and about 120 in 35 genera are recorded from Australia. However, there are also many undescribed species, and the recognition of species within genera such as Thrips and Frankliniella remains problematical. The range of biologies includes species that live only in flowers or only on leaves, as well as species that feed on both flower and leaf tissues; a few species feed on moses or ferns, and a few species are predatory on other small arthropods. This family includes all of the more important thrips pests, but some less common polyphagous tropical species probably have the ability to develop into pests given suitable conditions.