Spider Mite Damage???

[SteveM]

Hey All,

I am a newbie to the orchid world and have been bitten by the bug. I received an Aliceara about a month ago. It had some leaf damage. I looked for mites and didnt see any. Didn't see any pest and kind of thought of it as wind/environmental damage. The marking in the posted pics are on most but the newest sheaths. One leaf has it on the tip of the leaf whuch is gone, kind of looks like fertilizer burn. I did find what I thought to be a spider mite yesterday on it, was black and orange and very tiny, moved very slow. Wiped it off along with the rest of the leaves with alcohol. I have not seen any today nor any other little creatures. Resembled a mite under a magnifying glass. I did not see any webs but I read that not all of them spin webs. My concern right now if this is viral or fungal or any other disease, I have it on my deck under bright but non direct light. It may get 2 hrs of direct early morning sun. These lesions are causing the leaves to split. The leaves were like this when I recieved it, and has not gotten too much worse but seem to have increased. But that may just be my imagination. Any help would be appreciated. I have it quarantined from the rest of my other orchids which are in my greenhouse.
Any ideas???

Thanks all.

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

Photos are out of focus so it's hard to see detail.(Looks like the camera focused on the area behind the leaf rather than on the leaf) The light area where the leaf looks almost scraped, likely either mechanical damage, or possible bush snails. (They are tiny, live in the medium, and while not big enough to bite through a leaf, can scrape the surface) Mites don't necessarily leave webs. You can spot their damage on the underside of leaves where there's sort of a silvery stippling. If there's an area where you're not sure if it is expanding or not, a trick is to draw a circle around it with a Sharpie. The eye is much better at making comparisons than absolute measurements. I do't see anything that looks like fungus, virus not likely but can only be determined by testing. Can you upload some clearer photos?

[SteveM]

Yeah I guess you got a nice clear shot of my moss surface mulch lol...sorry about that. I will get a photo tomorrow...I did change the media when I received it. Was mostly bare root with some sphagnum moss around the roots to keep moist. Lots of roots that were in great shape.

[SteveM]

Thank you for your feedback yesterday. I have taken a few extra pics. One showing the leaf tip wildering away and one a wide shot so you can see the extent of the damage. Leaf tip is getting worse I have also read that Oncidium types especially the thin leaf ones have normal leaf issues.

I did put out a beer trap for slugs the other night which I did not catch any. I didn't want to keep it out more nights because I did not want to lure any to the orchid. We have had a lot of rain lately so slugs and snails wont surprise me,but haven't visually seen any...I checked at night briefly. I really appreciate your help.

Thanks

Steve

[Roberta]

I'm just not seeing anything out of the ordinary. All I see is what looks like mechanical damage some time in the past. I think just watch it, but so far at least the photos don't show anything worrisome. Spider mite damage, if there is any, will be on the undersides of the leaves... tiny pits. So do look carefully at the undersides of the leaves when you're observing.

[SteveM]

Thank you, Roberta. Very much appreciated. I just put it under more shade and out of wind. I was hoping that maybe it would bloom by fall, but I may have to wait another year or so.

[Roberta]

You have some nice-looking new growth, so blooming is still very possible. Orchids don't do anything fast.

[SteveM]

I think I found the culprit. One of my cats I found with leaf in mouth when I came home from work one day. The slit marks were on them when I got the orchid but the outer edges of the leaves weren't and she really did a number on it. Heard a lot of people had problems with their cats and Oncidium's. Also found one partially eaten leaf on my e[idendrum which I think has thrown out a flower sheath. Just have to wait and see. Moved both to greenhouse now that the temps are going to break for a while. all but one leaf is munched away. I trimmed them and put cinnamon on it. I probably will spray with systematic fungicide being they are going to be in a much more humid and warmer environment just as a precaution.

[Roberta]

When I was "babysitting" my son's cat, I had a similar issue with Cymbidiums. I think anything with floppy leaves is fair game. He could shred a leaf in a blink of an eye.

[SteveM]

People say that it resembles grass, and they will only eat certain orchids. Cat looked so cute, but I was really like Hey Man...Chill out