Thrips

Thrips belong in the insect order Thysanoptera, which means “fringed wings.” North America boasts some 700 of the 5,000 to 6,000 species of Thrips described thus far, and about 100 species inhabit the Great Lakes area. Thrips enter the fossil record in Permian times (about 250 million years ago), but it took them another 100 million years to become abundant.