This identification and information system includes 98 genera of the Thysanoptera family Thripidae that are thought to occur in China. This number is certain to increase, with expanding field studies on the Oriental and Holarctic components of the fauna of this highly diverse country.
This system provides information on biology and distribution wherever possible, but little is known about how most thrips species spend their lives. All thrips show some specificity in their host plant associations, and some species are fully dependent for survival on one, or a restricted range, of plant species. One objective of this user-friendly system is to encourage more students in China to discover the larval host plants on which particular thrips species are dependent to maintain populations.