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ORDER THYSANOPTERA -- THRIPS

a. Wings, if present, are narrow with a fringe of long hairs.

b. Mouthparts piercing, sucking assisted by a single tooth-like mandible which aids in rasping the plant tissue.

c. Most are tiny, less than 1/4 inch long.

d. Many suck sap from the foliage, flowers or fruit of plants such as roses or citrus.

Some thrips are predators, and a few feed on spider mites. Thrips have been known to bite agricultural workers, causing a pin-prick sensation. Thrips on citrus will cause leaf curl and scarring of fruit, but control is not necessary in backyard citrus because plant growth and fruit quality is unaffected..

ORDER THYSANURA -- SILVERFISH

a. Adults do not possess wings.

b. They have chewing mouthparts.

c. Have two or three bristles or tails at tip of abdomen.

d. Thysanura exhibit nonmetamorphosis.

e. They are household pests, feeding on such items as paste, paper, crumbs, etc.

Firebrats gather in the areas that are heated in the home, hence the name. They are not common in Arizona

ORDER COLLEMBOLA -- SPRINGTAILS

a. Insects less than 1/4 inch long with chewing or piercing mouthparts.

b. Possess an appendage on their ventral side which operates as a spring to aid the insect in a quick escape.

c. Build up to high numbers under moist conditions. Then as environment starts to dry out, they move into backyards and swimming pools, where they form "rafts" or "moving piles of soot."

d. Feed on decaying organic materials, such as rotting plants. They will on occasion attack plants, particularly in greenhouses.

e. Collembola are nonmetamorphosis.

OTHER ORDERS OF INSECTS

There are a number of other insect orders that are not pests of the home garden, but may be found in yards. Fleas of the order Siphonaptera may live in yards where pets or livestock are found. Other livestock pests include the sucking lice (order Anoplura) and the chewing lice (order Mallophaga). The adults of some of the aquatic species may be found in yards where they are attracted to lights. These include the stoneflies (order Plecoptera), dragonflies and damselflies (order Odonata), and mayflies (order Ephemeroptera). Common beneficial insects found in the yard are the net-winged lacewings (order Neuroptera). Book lice or bark lice (order Psocoptera) may build up in stored products, or books. Embioptera, or webspinners, are common insects drawn to lights at night. Females are wingless and form webbed tunnels in the yard under stones or wood. The males are sometimes mistaken for termites.