Observation of the feather-like wings of an unidentified thrips (Order: Thysanoptera) species under the foldscope

Mar 30, 2019 • 9:21 AM UTC

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140x Magnification

Microorganisms

Cedrick

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I recently went to a park in Manila and noticed my shirt catching several of these tiny bugs being blown by the wind. I brought home one to examine it closely. It measures only about 2.5 mm in length, and confirmed that it is an insect as it has three pairs of jointed legs.

Based on my research, I found out that this insect is called a “thrips”. I still don’t know if there is a local Filipino term for this insect, as it is my first time to see one. I was also surprised to find out that some species have 2 pairs of wings, as their wings are almost impossible for me to see with the naked eye. But their wings are so narrow and small that they are incapable of conventional insect flight (i.e., creation of leading edge vortex). Instead, they employ a different mechanism called “clap and fling” wherein their wings clap together and then fling apart, sucking air in and creating a vortex over each wing. But they could also travel through “inactive flight” by simply letting themselves get picked up by the wind. When at rest, their wings are folded back very closely over their flat bodies, hence the difficulty of seeing their wings. Using a low-magnification lens though, I was able to confirm that the species I brought home had wings, and so I began dissecting them very carefully and taped them on a microscope slide. Each wing is just about 1 mm in length.

What’s interesting about thrips wings is that they are feather-like, having fringes of cilia running along each wing’s margin. In fact, the name of their order “Thysanoptera” was derived from the Greek words thysanos , “tassel or fringe”, and pteron , “wing”, for their fringed wings that look unlike any other insect wings, and are thus worthy of observation. Using my foldscope, I was able to examine each wing more closely.

An entire thrips wing at 140x magnification

The base of a wing

Proximal third of a wing, showing the presence of fringe cilia and almost lack of venation and texture

Proximal third of another wing with some fringe cilia detached, showing more clearly their marginal attachments

Middle third of a wing, showing slight constriction and site of texture transformation going distally

Distal third of a wing, showing more texture

Closer look at the distal third of another wing, showing a seemingly random pattern of round pits dotting across the wing’s surface

Closer look at the distal third of another wing, showing variation of texture pattern in a single species; here, the round pits seem to be more organized and radiate from a central vein I would be very happy if anyone could help me identify the species of this thrips, as I have not seen any picture online of a thrips species sporting similar wing appearance.

Observation of the feather-like wings of an unidentified thrips (Order: Thysanoptera) species under the foldscope

Cedrick

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