Bug on orchid’s roots??

[rekos]

Hello!
I’ve had a phal orchid for a couple years now, it’s bloomed a few times and I’ve been pretty happy with it. A few months ago I finally did some research on actual orchid care and began actually checking on the roots from time to time. I recently moved into an apartment from my parents house, and took my orchid with me, only to find the window in my section of the apartment doesn’t quite shut all the way and is filthy anyway, so there are some bugs in it from time to time (yuck, I know). I realized before once that there were a few small bugs in the potting mix as well as at least one larger isopod/beetle/larva like bug. I repotted my orchid for the first time soon after that discovery and assumed that was that. It’s been a few months now, and while checking on my orchid’s roots today, I realized that another beetle was crawling along its roots.
Does anyone know what this is, and whether or not I should repot my orchid again to remove it? Thanks in advance!

[camille1585]

Bugs aren't yuck! They're beautiful misunderstood creatures. (but i'm an entomologist by training, so I won't find any bugs disgusting).

That looks like an earwig. They eat plant matter which is starting to decompose, and also other insects, so it's not harmful for your plants. I would not repot again. Instead, if you want to get rid of it, you can soak the pot in the sink or a bucket with the water level even with the top of the pot. That should help flush out any unwanted inhabitants! I think the plant would also appreciate it, those roots look really, really dry.

[katrina]

If it's an earwig...i would definitely chase it out with a good, long soak. Earwigs used to chew up my dahlia flowers all the time so I know they can do serious damage to flowers. They would chew holes in the flower petals!

Also, on two occasions, I've had spike nubs chewed and while I can't prove it was an earwig...it was the only thing I could find in the pots so I blame them.

[Dollythehun]

Agree with the ladies. Earwigs are voracious. They've ruined many a flowering plants for me. Sorry, Katrina...yuck! Soak em out!

[katrina]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Agree with the ladies. Earwigs are voracious. They've ruined many a flowering plants for me. Sorry, Katrina...yuck! Soak em out!

Yea, I used to grow a LOT of dahlias...especially fond of the Cactus varieties... and those little buggers ruined many beautiful flowers.

[camille1585]

Interesting to hear that earwigs eat flowers. While I often see them on/around plants in the yard, I've never noticed any damage. Maybe thr European species don't like flowers as much?

[Dollythehun]

Camille, when they hatch OMGoodness...there is not a basket or planter that is not shot full of holes. They love petunias and as Katrina says, Dahlia's are eaten right off the stems. Drown them! And, they bite.

[katrina]

Now that I'm thinking about it, a friend had a healthy little phal mount and one morning when she went into the greenhouse, the newest leaf was laying on the bench. She looked closely and could see it had been chewed off. This was a mini/compact species orchid...maybe lowii, I don't remember the name now...but the wee leaf had been chewed off and it was laying there. Upon close inspection...she found an earwig living in the moss on the mount. Destructive for sure!

[Leafmite]

Earwigs are both good and bad. From my observation, they are very effective at cleaning plants of mealy bugs and soft scale, probably as good as the lady bug/lacewing combo. Unfortunately, they also destroy my roses.
I would put the earwig outside or eliminate it, though, as indoors, it is not going to have the variety of foods and will probably begin to chop on the orchid.

[aliceinwl]

I'm a bug lover too. But, that's not an earwig. It's a roach nymph (baby roach). I don't think it'll hurt your orchid but you may want to look into getting some bait stations set up in your apartment; where there's one...