There are only 8 families of thrips found throughout the world, consisting of 4500 species. In Australia 4 of these families are represented with just 420 species present. Thrips are divided into 2 main groups or suborders, the Terebrantia and the Tubulifera. The vast majority of species present in Australia can be found in the Phlaeothripidae family within the suborder Tubulifera. Follow the links below to find out more on the thrips families. Those in bold represent the families of thrips found in Australia.

For thrip species visit the Australian Insect Common Names - Thysanoptera section found here.