Do I have thirps? - Orchid Board

aber · #1 06-01-2009, 12:12 PM

Hi there, I have what appears to be a healthy phal that I have recently brought home. It is still in bloom and looking good. I have been very careful not to over water it as its in a normal 4 inch pot in a moss medium. Its my experience that on the west coast that moss doesn't really dry out fast enough and i intend to repot in a orchid bark mix once it has finished blooming. However, the last time I watered I noticed 2 or 3 fast moving, non flying, silvery little bugs around the roots. I have seen these before on other plants - these bugs are extremely hard to find until you water, then they come running out! Seeing these in the past on other non orchid plants I had assumed they were fungus knats but in searching the internet I became aware of this other potential pest. Although from what I read about thirps and orchids is that they attack the blooms - I haven't seen this on my phal (knock on wood).

Any thoughts on what these little bugs are and how concerned I should be? Also, any thoughts on what the best orchid medium on the BC coast is best for the conditions?

lily99 · #2 06-02-2009, 10:31 AM

I think you have fungus gnats. These guys crawl around on roots and potting mix and don't really bother the plants, they just eat decomposing medium. The thrips can fly. Usually you see them crawling on flowers and new growths. They damage the flowers and new growth by sucking juices out of them. Flowers will have areas of discoloration on them and may become deformed. I really hate thrips. It took me a month of spraying to get rid of them.

camille1585 · #3 06-02-2009, 10:54 AM

I don't think it's thrips either, for the same reasons,a nd also because thrips are never found in/on the medium. I also don't think it's fungus gnats either, because those can fly, very well even. What you have are probably just little insects that feed on decaying material.

Judi · #4 06-03-2009, 08:32 PM

Depending on the size, you might possibly have springtails. There were numerous discussions on this board about them, one was: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...-now-help.html They are small, some jump some don't, they are a large family and commonly found in indoor and outdoor plants. You might want to Google them to see if that's what you have.

Ray · #5 06-05-2009, 08:58 AM

Could be psocids - "wood-, bark- or book lice" - that live off of decomposing wood fungi.

They are really not a threat to the plants, but are a good indicator that the medium is breaking down, and that is a problem.