Thrips on vandas?

[JennS]

Two of my vandas which has previously flowered beautifully have both been putting out deformed, small, and kind of veiny looking flowers. Some of the buds don't get to mature. Someone told me it could be thrips. I grow outdoors in central Florida so I imagine it could a variety of things. The plants themselves look quite healthy. Any ideas and or treatment options would be helpful.

[CTB]

Spraying with Malathion ot Orthene with a teaspoon of dish soap, ought to take care of any bug problem, thrips damage shows up as streaks on the flowers, or strippling on the leaves, and deformed flowers. Kind of sound like it , it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. Is that the only plant that is affected.?

[RobS]

For Thrips you should see small silver / white feeding spots. The insects are visible with the naked eye or a magnifying glass.

There is a number of other reasons for deformed flowers / dropping buds from mutations to physiological (fertilizer/temperature/chemical).