How does the ovipositor of female Terebrantia thrips work?

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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*).

In the suborder Terebrantia, the female possesses an ovipositor composed of two pairs of sawlike blades. This specialized structure is used to prepare a slit in living plant tissue, into which the female inserts her eggs.12

Because these eggs are proportionately large—often occupying two or three abdominal segments before they are laid—this mechanical cutting action is essential for the female to deposit them securely within the host plant. This method of egg-laying distinguishes the Terebrantia from the suborder Tubulifera, whose females lack an ovipositor and must instead place their eggs on surfaces or under bark.21