Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

its looking very bad steve, I think it is a spider because i see a web in that picture. It gives a great damage to your plants and i am really feeling bad. I have not any idea that which insect or pest do this. I only thinks that it is a spider.

What kind of bugs do I have? They have been the same size for the past few days. The burrow during the day and come out at night and early morning. They don't touch my plants, only the soil and bucket. Not sure what these little things are. They are by the thousands though, you can see it in the soil.

Couldn't tell much from the photo FC. That's a tough bunch since they're so small. The only thing I can say is that they remind me of baby cockroaches and since you are in Florida . Probably not what they are. If you're really desperate to know, you could swing by your county ag extension office and see if they know.

I am going to bust out the high powered camera tonight and see if I can get closer pictures when they come out. Problem is I only seem them out during the morning time.

As for the cockroach comment... 1) I sure hope they aren't roaches! My backdoor is 20 ft from this bucket!! 2) Not sure who you got your info from, but Florida has some of the biggest roaches you will ever come across! We have standard American roaches and then we have their steroid cousin the Palmetto Bug (Florida Woods Cockroach). The palmetto bugs, which we just call roaches as well, have wings which they love to use and omit a fowl smelling odor when frightened. Things are beastly. Definitely not fun trying to get those things out of the house.

Chris... and this is based only on size... mites. Now, spider mites are one kind... but mites occur in a multitude of forms. If these are plant-eaters... and going after your plants sure suggests they are,
From Wikipedia...

Some of the plant pests include the so-called spider mites (family Tetranychidae), thread-footed mites (family Tarsonemidae), and the gall mites (family Eriophyidae).

But no suggestion for treatments...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eriophyidae

This one...
[url]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarsonemidae
[/url]

Control

While little pest management research has been done on the majority of tarsonemid species, comprehensive studies have been made into the biological and chemical control of the cyclamen mite and the broad mite. Chemical trials demonstrated that endosulfan and dicofol consistently reduced densities of P. latus and S. pallidus,[2] and planting stock can be effectively decontaminated through fumigation with methyl bromide or 1,2-dibromoethane.[1] Three entomogenous fungi, Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus, can effectively manage broad mite infestations, with B. bassiana providing the greatest reduction.[3] Predatory phytoseiid mites, in the genus Neoseiulus, can also successfully control P. latus and S. pallidus under greenhouse and field conditions.[4][5]

I like the idea of using one bug to control the other... better than the chemical.

Put the pot near an ant trail and see if the ants will eat them?

- He said they were NOT on the plants only the soil and the bucket. I think with that many bugs, if they decided to eat the plant it would be a light snack (aka - death of a million bites)

Hi all,

Just re-read through this entire thread trying to identify this:



It seems to have wings forming at one end. It also wiggles along trying to escape.

Any ideas?

Guys, if anyone ever sees ArBe posting in two places simultaneously, someone go check on him b/c the body snatchers may have finally gotten him...

Spodoptera litura
Little bastards, I have heaps of them

Or something very similar seen as they only hang around the tropics apparently

Chook food it is then.

moth larvae, once it hatch it will developed in a beautiful cutworm that feeds on your crops! check enderneath and behind every hidden corner in your GH, surely there are more hidden!

+1

I found one of those just the other day.. I was wondering what it was..now I know... like Arbe said 'chook food'