Thrips on honey bees: more than hitchhikers?

Thrips (Thysanoptera) are opportunistic organisms that exhibit a wide range of life histories. Although easily overlooked because of their small size, they have been recorded from many types of ecosystems worldwide (Mound 2005). The thysanopteran fauna comprises~6,000 species and is more abundant and diverse in thetropics than in temperate regions (Mound and Marullo1996).Peer reviewe