what eats roots?

[Jeff9]

Hey guys,

I noticed for the second time the velamen layer on my Sophronitis cernua appears eaten / damaged.

However, both times the root tips didnt turn brown. Rather they just stayed green/white but stopped growing.

Could this be a bug causing it or an anomaly/deformity in the plant?

If its a bug what bugs eat roots? I've NEVER caught a bug on a plant or root, only the anoying little things in the medium i had a while back.

jeff

[Gin]

Have you checked at night ? might be snails or slugs also roaches will eat them there are probably others .. Gin

[Jeff9]

I have checked at night a few times and i never found anything.
I grow in a tank under lights which i keep very clean so whatever it is it must be hiding in the epiweb slabs or otherwise i wouldve seen it.

I am going to soak all the mounts over the weekend for a few hrs see what will come out

[Fishballs]

I found a cricket in my 55 gallon eating psudobulbs once. My guess would be Zonitoides arboreus, orchid snails. Almost every plant I've purchased has them. Those little bastards seem to come out of nowhere. Epiweb looks pretty fine but I know they hide easily in tree fern slabs where they retreat during the day to avoid drying out. Their favorite food is roots. All in all, they dont do much harm and healthy plants will outgrow any damage. Check for them just after the lights go on in the morning. I've used slug pellets to control them in the past now i just ignore them.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Fungus gnat larvae are very small and translucent with tiny, black heads. They can eat roots and "root tubers".

[Angurek]

I don't know how you're growing your Sophronitis, but I'll share my experience anyway.

I've actually had so-called "beneficial" wasps fly up to my Vandas and strip the velamen off the roots. When I watered my plants, I noticed that some of their roots looked peeled, as if someone had gone over them with a miniature wood plane. I didn't actually know what caused it until I caught the culprits in action.

But I'll agree with what everyone else has posted. If you're growing it in a pot, it could be fungus gnats (you can tell they're there if you see a bunch of small black flies scramble away when you disturb the pot). If the plant's close to the ground, it could also be gastropods (I.E. snails and slugs), or large insects like cockroaches or beetles.

[RobS]

Slices of cucumber are very efficient in atracting slugs and snails. Put one on top of the plant and check a few times during dark.