A Thrips, Thrips palmi Karny

Thrips palmi Karny was described in 1925 from Medan, Sumatra, where it was observed infesting mature as well as seedling tobacco plants (Karny 1925) (Fig. 1 adult, Fig. 2 larvae). A few years later this species was discovered as far as India and Sudan westwardly, and Taiwan northwardly. Until the full redescription (Bhatti 1980) became available about 50 years later, however, T. palmi had, for the most part, remained obscure and had long been confused with other species, particularly the common and widely distributed Thrips flavus Schrank. Consequently, very little has been recorded regarding T. palmi‘ s economic importance during this period. One exception was a single incidence of severe injuries recorded on sesame seed pods in southern India (Ananthakrishnan 1955). As soon as its identity was reconfirmed in 1980, however, the destructiveness of T. palmi was quickly demonstrated by a chain of events occurring in a short period of time throughout the Orient and Pacific islands.