Hi everyone,
I received a Cuitlauzina pendula last fall. It wasn’t in the best condition and I had to remove all the roots. After several months, it now grows really well, has nice plump Pseudobulbs and has a nice flower spike coming on at the moment.
I started noticing a few black, round bugs with long „horns“ crawling on the plant when I watered it under the sink. I saw some maybe eating some happy sap (not sure though) but otherwise they seem to live in the media. I don’t see any damage on the plant and given the look of the pseudobulbs and the fact that it doesn’t wiggle in the pot anymore, I don’t think they eat the roots. Any idea what those are?
Last time I watered I also saw some pests that look like thrips to me (Long and silvery), in addition to the other round bugs. I noticed these in the media of other plants too but can’t see any damage, or the bugs on the top parts of the plants. Could they be detritivorous thrips?
I started noticing a few black, round bugs with long „horns“ crawling on the plant when I watered it under the sink.
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Last time I watered I also saw some pests that look like thrips to me (Long and silvery), in addition to the other round bugs.
These both kind of sound like springtails. Springtails are tiny arthropods related to insects, that feed on even smaller organisms -- bacteria, mold, algae, pollen, etc. If you blow on them, they should jump away like fleas.
Springtails are generally beneficial; I add them to my orchids to prevent mold growth!
However, I'm going to have to ask for better pictures of both in order to confirm the identity of the bugs
Thanks for your reply! I have springtails too but i don’t believe these are some (they don’t jump and aren’t white).
I attached all the pictures I had but I have trouble focusing on them since they’re so small.
I uploaded the videos (which I can’t attach directly here) here on my drive if you’d like to have a look: Update your browser to use Google Drive - Google Drive Help
Hmmm, I'd assume the long silver bugs that move quickly and have a stop-and-go movement pattern are springtails.
I THINK that the round black bugs you're seeing are some algae beetles that I've encountered previously. Do you have some amount of algae growing? (a high enough concentration of algae can appear black instead of green)
Hmm, it could be algae beetles since I grow my plants in a mix of sphagnum moss and bark. The top layer is moss and does have a lot of algae on it. I hope you’re right and they only eat algae 😁
Thank you!
As long as the beetles don't appear to be impacting the health of the orchid negatively, then it should be ok.
Out in the garden, I grow some Angraecum and Dendrobium in pots of scoria, and there's all sorts of things living in those pots ...... ants, and everything. And I think that it's these living things in the pot that might even provide some nutrients for my particular orchids, as they've never been hand-fertilised or manually fertilised etc for thirty odd years.
On the other hand, in your case, a positive ID would put minds at ease. So some nice good quality close-up shots could allow a biologist etc to help identify the beetle.
Need help identifying some bugs!
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