Weird leaves

[Chiral224]

Originally Posted by camille1585

It may be thrips, or it might not. Could you post some pictures please? At this point we are just guessing what the problem may be!

I have to run and get my cell phone fixed. I can use that as a camera...or maybe my webcam. I'll try both. My other camera is broken, and while I do want to invest in a good camera I'm just not financially able at the moment. I know that doesnt help, but I hope I can capture this with my cell phone and I appreciate the help! I'll be back in an hour or so

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by Chiral224

I have to run and get my cell phone fixed. I can use that as a camera...or maybe my webcam. I'll try both. My other camera is broken, and while I do want to invest in a good camera I'm just not financially able at the moment. I know that doesnt help, but I hope I can capture this with my cell phone and I appreciate the help! I'll be back in an hour or so

Don't worry then, if it's a hassle for you to get a photo! Pictures are always nice to have, but we can still help without them!
Another way to test for thrips (assuming that, if there are any at all, they are in sufficient quantity and in the blooms) is to hold a black piece of paper under a bloom, and then flick the bloom several times very hard. If there are larvae, their yellow bodies will show up quite well on the black paper. I used that technique to harvest thrips when I was doing research on them during an internship last year.

[Chiral224]

Hi, I did the flick test and had some white dots fall...but I cant tell if this is maybe dust? How big are these? Would they look like black spots on the petals? On my leaves I'm noticing its like someone groved it with their fingernail...and they look a lighter green color. Something is also taking chunks out of the stem and at the base of the plant where all the leaves join. I've digged around and I cant find any bugs to speak of! Still working on the camera thing...

[Bulbophile]

Thrips are extremely small. Most people aren't able to see them without a magnifying glass. Adult are usually around the size of this comma, and thinner then that. (brown tan or black in color with shiny tiny wings) The larvae are very tiny, yellow and on the undersides of leaves, and in the blossoms, they're attracted to white and yellow flowers most, and will inhabit those plants first. Eggs are laid in plant tissues, larvae go dormant in the soil, pupating before they emerge into adults....

[camille1585]

These are pictures I took under a binocular last year, at a fairly high magnification. The first pic is an adult female, and the other is 2nd and 3rd instar larvae. If the specks you see are immobile, it's probably not thrips. These little things move quite fast!

[Bulbophile]

I only think it's thrips because of the damage she has described, the 3-5 mm grooves in her leaves. As well as the damage to the edges. Although it could be something else....

[Zoi2]

Those are great pictures Camille, I've never seen thrips--thanks for posting.
Joann

[Chiral224]

Those are great pictures! I've been looking through all the posts on pests (yep, ALL of them!) and I *think* that the holes on the flowers are from water. I'm still not sure on the other things. I'll work on some pics today. They'll just be cell phone pics so i dont know how they will come out.
One thing I have noticed is I think I have some root rot in one. They are both packed in sphagnum moss and one has rocks on the bottom, the other doesnt. The one that doesnt I can see a root that looks mushy-not black though-and has blue dots on it? could that be fungus or the fertilizer I used? This plants leaves are quite droopy and the blossoms are having a tough time opening and are smaller. The blossoms that are open are drooping too. Or is it maybe humidity? My other phal looks great (minus leaf issues)

Thanks everyone!!