Definitely not flea damage. I have no clue how thrip damage looks like.

Flea are attracted to eggplants not tomatoes.

Sey

You can tell if you have thrips by blowing fairly hard onto the center of a flower and if present, you can see them come out and run around.

It does not really look like damage from either, but if you are sure it is one of them, then it is thrips. Thrips are difficult to get rid of because they do hide deep in the nooks and crannies of the flower bud, so when spraying for them make certain to pay attention to the flowers and the tips of new growth.

This is the back side of the leaves

I'm not sure what it is, the only bugs I see in my garden are flea beetles and an occasional worm.

If thrips are in flowers can they be responsible for blossom drop? I seem to be getting a lot of flowers that don't pollinate. The weather here is getting pretty warm and humid, so i know that can be an issue. I do get some fruit set, just not much.

"Flea are attracted to eggplants not tomatoes."

That's not correct Seysonn. Flea beetles will attack a lot of plants including tomato. http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/flea-beetles/

To OP, are those black specks in your first picture hopping around? If so, those are flea beetles.

Daren

I think the black specks are fecal matter or something.

This is a photo of a flea beetle on my leaves

BriAnDaren Ottawa, On Zone 5(5)

"Flea are attracted to eggplants not tomatoes."

That's not correct Seysonn. Flea beetles will attack a lot of plants including tomato. Daren

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I could be wrong.There must be various kinds.

But over the years I have had flea Beetle infestation on eggplants, next to tomato plants and never seen a single problem with tomatoes.

Beside that, Flea Beetle leaves a distinctive perforation pattern.

Sey

Pcola - the small black specs might be young flea beetles but the damage to the leaves in the pics isn't typical of flea beetles. It could also be aphids or spider mites or any number of other common small insect pests. Or it could be nothing more than some sort of mild environmental damage and that is what it looks like to me.

Plus even if you can determine that it is flea beetles then they are not a major pest and almost impossible to control anyway so most of us just live with them.

Most importantly, the damage you show is very minor and poses no threat to the plant. So it isn't something to be overly concerned about unless it got substantially worse and trying to intervene without actually knowing the cause usually only makes things worse. Just relax and keep an eye on it.

Dave

I am not sure how thrips affect tomato flowers or fruits, but they can deform flowers of landscaping plants. The damage is done before the flower even opens.

Flea beetles here will eat a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. I'm sure they have their favorites, but they're not picky in my garden. The first picture screams flea beetles to me, but I also agree that it's generally not worth worrying about (unless they're eating your lettuce, grrrr).