OMG; Diagnosed thrip problem

[CR7cristiano]

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

Well, I've treated mine over and over again for mites, and the issue doesn't go away. Last year I had a huge break out of Mites on some of my plants, so I know what it looks like and how to rectify it. Unfortunately, this situation looks nothing like the last one. The silver markings for me are cracked and elevated. It's like looking at the surface of the moon, but silver dust colored. I've treated over and over again, and it still progresses. I'm convinced that what I'm seeing continuing to spread on this one is something other than mites. Guess ill keep searching, lol...

Paul then it seems like you can go ahead and assume Thrips then. Treat for that.

[DavidCampen]

Originally Posted by Gage

... Thrips are more elusive. I've never had thrips damage on my Phals though, they always go after my Vanda roots and buds.

I found that searching for thrips should be done at night, after dark. The thrips become active quickly once the lights go out, then if you use a flashlight to examine the underside of leaves, flower buds etc. you can find them.

[CR7cristiano]

Originally Posted by DavidCampen

I found that searching for thrips should be done at night, after dark. The thrips become active quickly once the lights go out, then if you use a flashlight to examine the underside of leaves, flower buds etc. you can find them.

Good Luck Paul. I'm off to the farm store now~

[Paul Mc]

Thanks. Please keep us updated!

[DavidCampen]

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

Well, I've treated mine over and over again for mites, and the issue doesn't go away. Last year I had a huge break out of Mites on some of my plants, so I know what it looks like and how to rectify it. Unfortunately, this situation looks nothing like the last one. The silver markings for me are cracked and elevated. It's like looking at the surface of the moon, but silver dust colored. I've treated over and over again, and it still progresses. I'm convinced that what I'm seeing continuing to spread on this one is something other than mites. Guess ill keep searching, lol...

Last year I thought I had mites and tried just about every miticide in the books, all to no avail. Finally I realized that the problem was thrips. What genera of your plants are having the problem? I have found that thrips don't seem to bother Cattleya leaves but will attack buds and flowers. They will attack Phalaenopsis leaves but they absolutely love the leaves of certain Catasetinae. Can you post some photos?

[Paul Mc]

Oh yes! Thank you! It is actually a Dendrobium.

And my apologies if I am stealing the light on this thread.

Here is what the dendrobium looks like overall.

And here is the nastiness!

[Paul Mc]

By the way, the reason why I say it does not look like Mites this time is because despite constant treatment it continues to spread, It does not spread to other orchids, and the residual damage does not look the same as those that I treated last winter and they recovered/survived.

[Paul Mc]

Also, using a white cloth or paper towel yields absolutely nothing. So I tried a black shirt and got absolutely nothing still.

[DavidCampen]

This evening I will post some photos I have of thrips damage to my plants. What you have does not look like the thrips damage that I have seen. On my plants the thrips damage shows as individual spots. To have the spots coalesce like that you would have to have a tremendous number of thrips and you should be able to easily find them by searching after dark using a flashlight.

[DavidCampen]

The photo on page 3 labeled "Leaf Damage" is what I have experienced with thrips. I have seen much worse done to my plants but still you can see the individual spots.
http://www.staugorchidsociety.org/PD...ySueBottom.pdf

Also, on the 1st page, in the photo labeled "Thrips Destroying Cattleya Flower" you can see the thrips. Thrips go through half a dozen enstars and so can look different depending on what enstar you are viewing.