Icarus Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 (edited) Hi, since months i have trouble we these little beasts on most of my highland nepenthes: i thought they were some kind of mites, but all acarizides i used did not work and i used them multiple times properly. What are these? I think i have to try something else. The "bugs" are about 0.5mm in size, white transparent and hard to see with your eyes. I really need help, i cannot do anything at the moment but removing them by hand every day. Edited August 15, 2014 by Icarus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 they look like spider mites. if youir acaricide does not work they may be resistant. consider using predatory mites, or an oil emulsion based teatment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarus Posted August 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 (edited) I used predatory mites, that did not work either. I also used an oil-based spray. that also did not work. My next idea is to try acaricides containing abamectin. I already tried Fenproxymat, Acequinoyl, Pyrethrine. Edited August 15, 2014 by Icarus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarus Posted August 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 anybody else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matwag Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Hello Icarus, I agree with Stephen, they are indeed red spider mite but very juvenile ones. From looking at the photo you posted I notice there seems to be a lack of adult mites which suggests to me that some of the acaricide you've used has been mildly effective though as mentioned before this pest has become resistant to many pesticides. Now I'm probably going to sound like a rep for this product as I've mentioned it before in posts on this subject but SB invigorator works wonders on red spider mite provided you apply it correctly and as follows- I 1 apply it preferably in the evening when it is cooler and not sunny 2 apply thoroughly ensuring the top and bottom of the leaves are drenched, also the stems and sides of the pot. 3 repeat at least every 7 days during the summer to catch all stages of the life cycle. 4 always dilute the spray as directed using only lime free water. 5 be aware that SB invigorator contains urea as one of its ingredients so test spray a small area of your plant first to check for adverse effects and accordingly avoid saturating the growing medium with it. If this is unavoidable then flush the soil thoroughly with soft water after application. 6 invest in a pocket magnifier and check your plant diligently especially the undersides of the leaves at least on a weekly basis. Apologies if I've rambled on a bit but these mites reproduce so quickly that you have to be meticulous in how you control them and get effective results. Best wishes Matwag 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Baba Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 Sorry guys your mite ID skills are not so good. :) The mites I can see from your pictures are semitransparent, with shiny round abdominal segment and long hairs protruding backwards. Spider mites have a more egg shaped abdomen and the abdominal hairs are very short. These look like Tyrophagus mites, which are common mites that live anywhere damp with decaying organic matter. They dont cause damage to plants. As you have found, predatory mites dont eat them. Mite control chemicals for spider mites probably wont have much effect either. If you leave them alone the numbers will fall after a while, and you will not notice them unless you look for them. There are all sorts of mites that live around our plants and in soil and compost. Very few of them are plant pests. If there is no damage to your plants, leave them be and stop worrying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matwag Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 Hello Icarus, is there any chance you could post any photos you may have of damage if any caused to the leaves of your Nepenthes or other symptoms? Regards Matwag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 Sorry guys your mite ID skills are not so good. :) The mites I can see from your pictures are semitransparent, with shiny round abdominal segment and long hairs protruding backwards. Spider mites have a more egg shaped abdomen and the abdominal hairs are very short. These look like Tyrophagus mites, which are common mites that live anywhere damp with decaying organic matter. They dont cause damage to plants. As you have found, predatory mites dont eat them. Mite control chemicals for spider mites probably wont have much effect either. If you leave them alone the numbers will fall after a while, and you will not notice them unless you look for them. There are all sorts of mites that live around our plants and in soil and compost. Very few of them are plant pests. If there is no damage to your plants, leave them be and stop worrying. yes, that would explain it, I get loads of these mites crawling over my Sarracenia in autumn but do no damage. (I got them ID'd by the Natural History Museum). The treatments probably ARE working, but more mites spread back onto the plants from the soil afterwards... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matwag Posted August 19, 2014 Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 yes, that would explain it, I get loads of these mites crawling over my Sarracenia in autumn but do no damage. (I got them ID'd by the Natural History Museum). The treatments probably ARE working, but more mites spread back onto the plants from the soil afterwards...That's a very good answer. Now what am I going to do with these fifty bottles of invigorator I've got knocking about....... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarus Posted August 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 They do damage my plants. Defenitley not Tyrophagus, i have red spots on the leaves as well as on the stem and also leaf deformations. thats exactly where i always find them. i think they are Tarsonemidae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matwag Posted August 20, 2014 Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 Hello Icarus, have you got any close up photos of the damage you could show us to double check? Thanks Matwag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Baba Posted August 24, 2014 Report Share Posted August 24, 2014 Hi Icacrus you really need to get a sample of the infested plant to someone who can ID them. No disrespect to your photographic skills but your pictures arent sufficiently clear to ID the mites with 100% certainty. You have the benefit of being able to view the mites directly through a magnifying glass, so if they havent got little hairs poking out the back them they arent Tyrophagus. Tarsonemid mites are very very small compared with other plant mites, and hard to ID, but all the pictures I have seen show mites with elogated bodies, not the same shape as yours. You may of course have more than 1 sort of mite! If you belong to the RHS or know someone who is, you can send some off for ID. If tarsonemid mites are there they can be controlled with the predatory mite normally used to control thrips, I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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