Small Black Insects

[Faan]

When looking for snails a few minutes ago I saw small insects on the roots of my Mystacidium capense. At first I thought these to be eggs of some sort, but when I had a closer look I discovered that these eggs move.

These little insects are about, or not even 1/2 mm in size and I only saw them on the roots. They are black in colour and shiny in the light.

I have not been able to spot them on any other plant.

If I know what they are I may check to see whether they can do any harm. This is the first time ever that I have seen something like this.

Any comments?

[orchidsarefun]

to be sure, but it sounds like aphids. I remember black aphids in RSA.

Ja, ek het in Suid Afrika gebly jare terug ! Hoe gaan dit ? Ek is in Kaapstad in Junie.

[Faan]

These little things are so small that I am not sure whether I can take a photo with my camera.

What I did last night was to put the whole pot in a bowl of water with a few drops of dish washing liquid in the water and I think that killed most of them together with a snail that came out. I then made sure that I properly rinsed the pot.

Will check today to see whether it helped.

Interessant om Afrikaans uit die Amerikas te hoor. Alles goed hier net verskriklik warm. Will mail you privately about what I am planning for end August 2013.

[Discus]

I've had smallish black aphids on orchids here. See Orchids on a Balcony: Pests: Black Fly

Good luck!

[Pelepel]

Sounds similar to the soil mites (they had some type of mite, soil were our best guess as they only wanted to hang out in the roots) we had when we bought a few neo falcatas. Putting them in S/H and blasting them with neem oil seemed to cure them. Though, we have had a real issue with getting rid of them 100%. Could also be predatory mite. Simply my guess. You can google image and compare.