thrip

noun

1. Optional singular for thrips, an insect of the order Thysanoptera.

   “S.^([Stenchaetothrips]) biformis is also known as rice leaf thrip, paddy thrip, or oriental rice thrip.”

   “A pair of local pests, the thrip and white fly, made their way into the greenhouse through the air vents and hitchhiked into the conservatory on plants. Without controls in place, each female thrip can reproduce 200 offspring every week.”

   “Thrip are probably one of the hardest flies to actually see. The fecal deposits they leave on the underside of leaves are usually noticed long before the thrip itself.”

   “Nevertheless for the sake of discussion here, I posit a situation that engages experts and uses the thrip infestation as a hypothetical case study.”