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How do thrips spread plant viruses?

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Detailed illustration of a western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, showing its elongated yellow-brown body, six legs, and two pairs of fringed wings spread outward. — thrips Western flower thrips (*Frankliniella occidentalis*).

Thrips (order Thysanoptera) act as vectors for certain plant viruses, meaning they naturally carry and transmit these pathogens between plants.12

When thrips feed on an infected plant, they can acquire the virus. Once the virus is in their system, they may transmit it to healthy plants during subsequent feeding sessions. The duration for which a thrips can carry a virus varies; some viruses persist within the insect vector for weeks or months—and may even replicate inside them—while others are carried for less than an hour.12

Because of their minute size, thrips are particularly effective at accessing small spaces, such as the tiniest cracks in stems or the interior of small flowers, which facilitates their role in spreading disease throughout a crop.1