By Navdeep Kaur and Rajesh VavilapalliAt barely a millimeter long, Thrips parvispinus is easy to overlook. Like other thrips species, T. parvispinus feeds by piercing the epidermal layer of plant tissues and sucking out the cell contents. Because the insects often hide inside flowers and young plant tissues, infestations may go unnoticed until damage becomes severe. Damage caused by T. parvispinus can resemble injury from other thrips species or even broad mites, making infestations easy to misdiagnose. Unusual leaf distortion, bronzing, flower damage, or thrips infestations that do not respond to standard treatments may warrant closer investigation.