Thrips are very small and slender insects with fringed wings and are a common insect found in greenhouses and gardens. Thrips range in color from translucent white to yellow to green to black and brown. There are thousands of species of thrips which feed on a wide variety of plants and insects. In the spring adult thrips insert eggs into plants leaves or stems. The eggs hatch a few days to weeks or even months later depending on conditions. The wingless nymphs then feed and go through 2 additional nymphal stages before pupating in the soil and emerging as new adults. Adults and pupae overwinter in the soil. The entire life cycle can take as little as a few weeks or much longer depending on temperature and other conditions. Thrips tend to be a bigger problem in the warmer months when their lifecycle is shorter. Thrips typically feed on plants in large groups and cause damage by sucking the juice from plants and by acting as a vector for serious plant diseases.