Tiny but significant: on the importance of thrips as pollinators.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Thrips (Thysanoptera) are minute plant and flower visitors in ecosystems across the world but are commonly viewed as notorious pests and too small to effect pollination. The role of thrips as pollinators is thus largely neglected. We provide an overview of the number of plant taxa that are pollinated by thrips, the floral traits of thrips-pollinated plants, and discuss why thrips can be effective pollinators.

Main findings

Thrips pollination occurs in almost half of all seed plant orders, 53 families and 102 plant genera. In many taxa, thrips are the primary or only pollinator. Thrips effectiveness as pollen vectors is enhanced by enormous thrips population sizes in inflorescences, pollen loads of up to >100 grains per individual, and the ability to travel in wind

SUBMITTER: Pop C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12464953 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature