small arthropod with six legs and two wings
Thrips Thrips are small hemimetabolic insects with a distinctive cigar-shaped bauplan. They are elongated with transversely constricted bodies. They range in size from 0.5 to 14 mm (0.02 to 0.55 in) in length for the larger predatory thrips, but most thrips are about 1 mm in length. Flight-capable thrips have two similar, strap-like pairs of wings with a fringe of bristles. The wings are folded back over the body at rest. Their legs usually end in two tarsal segments with a bladder-like structure known as an "arolium" at the pretarsus. This structure can be everted by means of hemolymph pressure, enabling the insect to walk on vertical surfaces.[8][9] They have compound eyes consisting of a small number of ommatidia and three ocelli or simple eyes on the head.[10]
Insect morphology The insect thorax has three segments: the prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax. The anterior segment, closest to the head, is the prothorax; its major features are the first pair of legs and the pronotum. The middle segment is the mesothorax; its major features are the second pair of legs and the anterior wings, if any. The third, the posterior, thoracic segment, abutting the abdomen, is the metathorax, which bears the third pair of legs and the posterior wings. Each segment is dilineated by an intersegmental suture. Each segment has four basic regions. The dorsal surface is called the tergum (or notum) to distinguish it from the abdominal terga.[1]:22â€“24 The two lateral regions are called the pleura (singular: pleuron), and the ventral aspect is called the sternum. In turn, the notum of the prothorax is called the pronotum, the notum for the mesothorax is called the mesonotum and the notum for the metathorax is called the metanotum. Continuing with this logic, there is also the mesopleura and metapleura, as well as the mesosternum and metasternum.[8]