Mealybug? Doesn't look like images I checked...

[James O]

I spotted these little critters on the roots of my Bratonia Shelob 'Tolkien'. They are only on the darker green and older roots. Not on new growth roots. They don't look like Mealybug photos I searched and survived a the pot being dunked in Bayer Provado and then sprayed with the same 2 days ago. They are not obviously visible on any other plant.
Any ideas?

[Ray]

Not mealies - fortunately. Don't know the exact ID, but I'd look at replacing the potting medium.

[katrina]

Those are not mealybugs. I could be wrong but they appear to be juvenile millipedes.

If this plant were mine, I would unpot, clean off all the old medium and roots, and then pot into fresh medium.

Millipedes are not a huge problem when you only have the occasional critter in a pot here and there...they eat decaying plant matter and I get a few every summer when I put my plants outside. The problem comes in when the numbers are high because they could possibly start munching on the roots. When I see that many in a pot...my biggest concern would be the state of the medium. Your bark doesn't look bad on the top...but perhaps the bark down in the pot is getting old and/or you have some rotted roots down in there, which is what they are probably feeding on. ??

Personally, they creep me out and seeing one or two, I can handle, but the thought of all of those little ones growing up and setting up house in my other orchids...no, no, no. It would freak me out a bit too much.

[orchidsarefun]

look like juvenile pillbugs to me. I've had them in pots outdoors throughout Summer with no apparent ill effects. However a neem oil drench was effective in killing them when the pots were brought indoors.

[PaphMadMan]

These are springtails, Collembola. I really have no doubt of that. There are definitely no more than 3 pairs of legs visible, ruling out millipedes or pillbugs. The size and form are typical for springtails. I can't specifically see the furcula (the spring under the tail) but this is often held close to the abdomen.

Otherwise, what others have said still applies. Often a sign of media that is old or staying too moist, but rarely any direct harm. Repot in fresh media, now is good with active root growth, and they probably won't stick around.

[James O]

It's springtails! Just checked some pictures and it's definitely them. Thanks everyone!!

When I change the media what should I wash the base/roots in?

[estación seca]

Just swish vigorously in plain water. Springtails eat rotting media.

[James O]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Just swish vigorously in plain water. Springtails eat rotting media.

Which is odd as this was repotted earlier this year. Can't have cleaned it properly.

Oh well. I'll repott in the next day or so

[estación seca]

You can't get rid of them completely from your collection, and, as noted, they JUMP.

[PaphMadMan]

Springtails are almost always present but only become noticeable when conditions are right. Even if you could eliminate them from your whole collection it would be temporary. Next time you walk in from outside they could be on your shoe. If they show up like this just a few months after repotting either conditions may be constantly wet, or something in the media broke down fast, or perhaps direct infestation from outdoor plants brought in - some cause, not just because a few survived the last repotting. They probably aren't in the top 10 list of things to be concerned about with your plants even if a heavy infestation crops up for some reason.