Pests on Pleurothallis, plus flower problem

[Maxy24]

I have a Pleurothallis mathildae in a small terrarium by itself. I've had it for 3 years or so. For the first time since I've had it it spiked and I was soooooo excited. Then it bloomed...sort of. The flowers don't look right, it's like the petals didn't actually form. They are just blank greenish "petals", I think they might just be the sepals. A second spike that was forming has now failed, it turned brown and died about half way up. Anyway, when the buds opened I was able to see bugs crawling all over them. They must blend in with the leaves but are really easy to see on the flowers/sepals. I was wondering what pest they are, could they have harmed the flowers, and what can I do to get rid of them? Remember this is in a little terrarium with no drainage so I'm not sure if that changes what I have to do when using chemicals.

I took some pictures to try and show you the bugs (and failed flowers) but they didn't come out very clear unfortunately, they're just too small and the plastic terrarium didn't help!








Zoomed in on bugs

[Maxy24]

After doing some research I think they might be thrips. What is the best way to get rid of them?

[cbuchman]

Check out Sue Bottoms' many papers on orchid diseases and pests. She usually includes remedies. You can find some links on this pager of the North Jersey Orchid Society Web site

Orchid Resources | North Jersey Orchid Society