The flower thrips (Thrips hawaiiensis) are one of the major banana insect pests in the Philippines. Via their raspingsucking and oviposition activities, the thrips develop dark brown and black bumps on the surface of flower buds and young fruit. T. Hawaiiensis not only affects the consistency of flower nutrition, edibility and pharmaceutical value, but also affects the production and use of banana bioproducts. Furthermore, there was also convincing evidence that bugtok disease of cardava is transmitted by thrips.

Thrips hawaiiensis has a dark brown body, yellow legs, and brown antennae except for segments III and the base of segments IV and V which are yellow. Adults have two pairs of very slender wings with long hairs that, when not being used, it lies longitudinally over the back. With a clear base, the forewings are grayish-brown. The females are about 1.5 mm (3/50 inches) long and the males are significantly smaller. Eggs hatch within 3 to 6 days, but they can take as long as 20 days. In a dispersed pattern, they are typically laid singly. They are inserted partly or completely into an incision created by the female saw-like ovipositor into the plant tissue. The span of the first larval stage is approximately 1-5 days. They find a safe spot and molt when the first instars have doubled in size. The larvae of the second stage are white to yellow and have antennas that vary in shape and also the duration of the second instar is between 4 to 10 days. Prepupae are the first instars of the pupal stage and mark an intermediate stage between the larvae and the true pupae. These individuals have wing buds (an early stage of wing development), rudimentary antennae, and do not feed or excrete. After a molt, a single pupal process occurs. Antennas that curl back across the head have been formed by Pupae. The wing pads have grown into long sheaths and have adopted adult proportions for the legs and bodies. It takes 3 to 10 days for the whole pupal period.