542 
THYSANOPTERA. 
by its forelegs, with the wings wrapped round it, in the position a 
flying fox or bat has. The larva bored down the root of the tea bush 
from the soil level, the pupa lying in the bore towards the opening. 
THYSANOPTERA— Thrips. 
Small insects , with two fairs of narrow fringed wings. 
The order is very incompletely known in India, chiefly owing to the 
small size of the insects composing it. Our common forms are less than 
one-tenth of an inch long, of 
dull colouring. The head is 
short, the antennse moderately 
long and inserted on the ex¬ 
treme front of the head ; there 
are compound eyes and ocell 
and the inconspicuous mouth- 
parts are on the under surface 
of the head towards the thorax. 
The trophi are peculiar and in 
some species are formed for 
lacerating the epidermal tis¬ 
sues of plants, the resulting 
sap or semi-liquid matter 
forming the food. In a 
number it is uncertain to what 
*use the trophi are put, and 
it is stated that they are suc¬ 
torial in function. 
CP 
v 
Fig. 347— Thrips. 1— Egg. 2, 3- Nymphs. 
4—Resting nymph. 5—Imago. 
The thorax and abdomen are slender, the latter tapering to the 
apex ; the wings are often reduced or absent—when present consisting 
of a slender stiff portion bearing a fringe of hairs on one or both sides. 
In repose they are carried over the abdomen. The apex of the 
abdomen is either composed of two valves or of a tubular structure ; in 
many species a drop of liquid issues from this tubular end and is carried 
