Western flower thrips

Western flower thrips are slender insects one-sixteenth inch long, pale tan or yellow, found feeding inside flowers and on developing fruit. Look for silver-white streaking and dark excrement spots on flower petals and developing fruit. Females pierce fruit with their ovipositors to lay eggs, creating sunken brown pits called pansy spots. Damage becomes visible on fruit as it develops.

Scout flowers and developing fruit during petal-fall to 5-millimeter fruit size window. Spray insecticidal soap, spinosad, or pyrethrin-based products just before petal fall. For edible fruit, time applications to avoid harvest restrictions. Encourage predatory mites and parasitic wasps through habitat management and reduced pesticide use.