Giant Thrips

Idolothrips spectrum
Family: Phlaeothripidae
Suborder: Tubulifera
Order: Thysanoptera

This unusually large member of Thysanoptera has a body length of about 5mm. The photo shows the characteristc narrow wings with a fringe of bristles. that make it an awkward flier. It has a tubular appendage on the end of the abdomen which is a characteristic of the suborder Tubulifera. The photo also shows the lateral barbs the abdomen.

The image is a focus-stacked composite of 38 images collected using a we macro rail. The camera was a Sony A7R4 with a Laowa magnifying macro lens set to 2.5x. Static llighting was provided using LED panel lights though an improvised diffuser made from a polyethylene milk bottle. The focus stacking software used was Boltnev and Kacher’s “Focus Stacker”. Post-process editing was done using Lightroom and Topaz Labs “Sharpen” app.