Odd balls? on orchids

[Oranagra]

@SouthPark the white marks seem to be just reflection of the flash i was using to take the photos.

[SouthPark]

Thanks oranagra ------- those ball shaped things are certainly interesting. Some shapes really look like parts of insects ----- eg. head of ants etc. But the round things ..... they're probably not abdomens of ants, unless those balls aren't completely round. A magnifying glass could help provide clues.

Somebody did mention - squish one a bit. But do that on a piece of paper, and don't get any of the stuff on your fingers etc. Don't let any liquid (if any) get into eyes etc.

[Ray]

Seeing the size, I vote with Paphluvr - oxalis seeds.

[Oranagra]

do these seeds climb on walls??
here's a photo of my main grow area and some pointers on where i found them (underneath and on top of some leafs and even labels).
i do take the orchids outside that window to water them in my backyard, next to some citrus trees, but that can't cause them to get glued to my walls too..
i tried to squash them, they're soft but not very fleshy.

[aliceinwl]

The seed pods of Oxalis dehisce explosively. This sends the seeds flying and they can easily wind up pretty high.

[kvet]

Oooo maybe put some in sterilized, moist soil. If they germinate, then you know it's a seed.

[hypostatic]

OHHHH now that you posted the room picture, I think I've gotten this before?!

When I had this, it was some sort of mold/fungus associated with fertilizer used in mulch. The fungal spores shoot out and attach to everything -- cars, sidings, windows, etc. It looked almost exactly your pictures. The dots were like tar; almost impossible to get out. But I guess the good news is that if it is this fungus, it should be harmless to your orchids (but maybe not for the media, or your walls).

A quick google search returns "artillery fungus".
Garden Housecalls - Artillery fungus

[KingKong]

The second pest are thrips. They can multiply fast so I would try to get rid of them.

Last time I had some they spread to another plant but caught it just in time so could squish them and they didn't come back but they are fast and jump even faster. They also like hiding in the substrate. (unlike aphids which are slow and just hang underneath leaves)

The first infected plant got hosed under a water tap and the substrate was microwaved - that got rid of the initial source.

The black dots could be snails but it is too hard to see. If they are spreading across your wall like they seem to be I would maybe suspect baby snails.

[SouthPark]

True. When I did a google search on 'round dark balls on orchids and walls', it returned hits that leads to words like 'artillery fungus'.

Eg. Click Here.

[Roberta]

I would suspect the black balls are fungal, too. Thrips are tiny (about 2 mm long and maybe 1/2 mm or less wide). Look like little black threads on white flowers. And wreak havoc on flowers, don't do much to the plant.