Houseplant pest ID please
April 13, 2020 6:19 AM Subscribe
What is this houseplant pest please?
I am treating another houseplant in the same room for mealybugs but these look very different. This photo is of my fiddle leaf fig but they are also on my orchids and my medinilla magnifica. As well as the identifiable bugs, there are also teeny-tiny white dots that look like dust specks but might be babies (visible also in the photo), together with small sap droplets at what must be puncture points in the stems and fresh growth. I think they look like aphids but when I google houseplant aphids I see winged insects that look very different to these. I also thought they could be spider mites but there is no tell-tale webbing in sight. Any suggestions please for ID and/or treatment? All of my beloved plants in my favourite room seem to have at least some of them and I'm (possibly exaggeratedly because of the current situation) quite heartbroken.
I am treating another houseplant in the same room for mealybugs but these look very different. This photo is of my fiddle leaf fig but they are also on my orchids and my medinilla magnifica. As well as the identifiable bugs, there are also teeny-tiny white dots that look like dust specks but might be babies (visible also in the photo), together with small sap droplets at what must be puncture points in the stems and fresh growth. I think they look like aphids but when I google houseplant aphids I see winged insects that look very different to these. I also thought they could be spider mites but there is no tell-tale webbing in sight. Any suggestions please for ID and/or treatment? All of my beloved plants in my favourite room seem to have at least some of them and I'm (possibly exaggeratedly because of the current situation) quite heartbroken.
Most aphid species only make winged forms to disperse and mate. When in colonizing mode they reproduce parthenogenetically to make a series of wingless females.
They also come in a large variety of sizes and colors, and will darken a bit as they age.
No matter what it is, I’d treat all the plants with insecticidal soap, repeatedly. You can also use systemic treatments but soap and water and mechanical removal go a long way. Aphids are slow and defenseless, you can easily kill thousands with a toothbrush. Scale also is treated similarly.
Aphids, scale, and even spider mites are almost never directly deadly to houseplants, but the earlier and more decisive your response, the less total damage. If you see dense clumps on certain plant parts it may make sense to just prune that off.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:48 AM on April 13, 2020
They also come in a large variety of sizes and colors, and will darken a bit as they age.
No matter what it is, I’d treat all the plants with insecticidal soap, repeatedly. You can also use systemic treatments but soap and water and mechanical removal go a long way. Aphids are slow and defenseless, you can easily kill thousands with a toothbrush. Scale also is treated similarly.
Aphids, scale, and even spider mites are almost never directly deadly to houseplants, but the earlier and more decisive your response, the less total damage. If you see dense clumps on certain plant parts it may make sense to just prune that off.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:48 AM on April 13, 2020
(That photo is definitely not a scale insect but the other unidentifiable bumps may be)
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:50 AM on April 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:50 AM on April 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
My guess is aphid; it tracks with the small sap droplets (if clear and sticky, those are honeydew; actual Ficus lyrata sap is opaque and white) and the small white "dusty" dots are likely some mix of dried sap and shed aphid skins. (Aphids moult as they grow, since their hard exoskeletons prevent them from slow gradual growth. Only after the final moult do aphids have wings, I think.) Soapy water (small amount of dishwashing liquid in water, sprayed on with a mister), especially if accompanied by a strong jet of water during the rinse (as from a detachable showerhead) is usually adequate, though the growth habit of some plants can make it hard to reach every surface. And you'll likely have to do it a few times before the problem is gone.
Longshot guess: if the "dust" sometimes takes on a reddish-brown color, particularly on the orchid, you might also have brevipalpus mites, which would look a lot like webless spider mites (though they're smaller and would be a lot tougher to photograph; I can only make them out on my own plants when I use a microscope) and also produce a lot of small white shed skins. As far as I know, they don't produce droplets of liquid. My own brevipalpus case has only been identified in the last couple weeks, so I'm still looking for a good treatment.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 7:18 AM on April 13, 2020
Longshot guess: if the "dust" sometimes takes on a reddish-brown color, particularly on the orchid, you might also have brevipalpus mites, which would look a lot like webless spider mites (though they're smaller and would be a lot tougher to photograph; I can only make them out on my own plants when I use a microscope) and also produce a lot of small white shed skins. As far as I know, they don't produce droplets of liquid. My own brevipalpus case has only been identified in the last couple weeks, so I'm still looking for a good treatment.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 7:18 AM on April 13, 2020
I don't think its an aphid or a scale insect. I think its a mite. There are plenty types of mites that eat plants, but there are also mites that eat the mites that eat plants. I don't know enough to know which this is. Google houseplants and mites.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 8:07 PM on April 13, 2020
posted by WalkerWestridge at 8:07 PM on April 13, 2020
Predatory mites will be ambulatory, walking around nearly constantly. Aphids are almost motionless, and won’t even move much if you poke them. Mites also have more than 6 legs, if you can look close enough to confirm leg count.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:00 AM on April 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:00 AM on April 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by chappell, ambrose at 6:44 AM on April 13, 2020