A field study was conducted at Munday in Knox County, TX, during 2004 and 2005 to identify thrips species present on cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., during early development stages. Thrips have been one of the most important pests during past years because they are known to cause damage to cotton seedlings in early season. A plant-wash technique was used to recover the different species of thrips from cotton. Morphological keys were used to identify species when possible. Nine species were found across years; however, only seven thrips species were found in each individual year. A detailed explanation of the species found is given, and some distinguishing characteristics for species identification are provided. Thrips were very abundant at the beginning of the season, but abundance slowly decreased both years during the four weeks of sampling.