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Post by dvg on Mar 15, 2009 18:11:37 GMT -5
I will definitely check those out Ellsie. Thanks a bunch!!
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Post by lloyd on Mar 15, 2009 19:25:55 GMT -5
I just got a look at the pictures-my work place blocks them. The heli's seem to be infested with scale.
I agree with Tom, the white stuff looks more like whitefly to me. Mealy bugs in my experience are bigger, more amorphous and more cottony. Although I don't want to argue with other experts plus the pictures are just not quite detailed enough for my eyes.
The heli's are probably small enough to allow manual alcohol destruction. Don't forget to look in nooks and crevices and in the pitchers.
The white flies maybe should be attacked with mechanical means-vacuunming (see Tom's link) water jets and maybe a surfactant or mild detergent to drown them.
I would then use the Neem on both of them after the above treatments.
I think an important lesson here (which I often don't follow, being lazy or "busy") is to inspect all plants close-up with a hand magnifier on a regular basis, not less than every 2 months. Then you can at least catch the devils when they are only a minor problem.
I don't think you should throw anything out. You may lose some plants due to vigorous treatments or weakness due to the bugs but hopefully very few.
Good luck.
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Post by vraev on Mar 15, 2009 19:46:51 GMT -5
hmm..... I discounted mealy bugs very early. They weren't powdery or anything. But one thing was for sure...those white things never really moved. My neps do seem to have a dusty appearance now. Still....I guess if its a mealy bug...thats what it is. Yeah! I am going to try those systemic insecticides and see if it helps. I am still waiting for the right time before I spray them all with it. It can't be whitefly. White flies move...these are immobile. I am sure I would have noticed flies if I had them. BUt one thing is for sure though...occassionally, I have spotted only ONE OR TWO FUNGUS GNAT like insects flying around. But never any white flies.
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Post by lloyd on Mar 15, 2009 20:15:33 GMT -5
The nymphs look sort of midway between a scale and a mealy bug and are immobile. The adults have wings. Vraev your pictures do look like whitefly to me. All the articles I saw suggested that insecticides will induce resistance and will likely work only for a little while. Go for the mechanical,/surfactant/neem route IMHO. www.spraytec.com/category/plant-diseases-symptoms/
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Post by Rick Hillier on Mar 15, 2009 20:41:26 GMT -5
I had quite a few different pests proliferate through my nepenthes collection a couple of years ago, as was pointed out by Syble. I fogged everything in the plant room with Doktor Doom. Didn't hurt a single plant in my entire collection (including the other species that I have) and didn't even affect the inhabitants of the 90-gallon salt water tank that I have as a refugium connected into the same system as my 180-gallon display tank (and some of that stuff is REALLY sensitive).
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Post by fragrantphals on Mar 15, 2009 21:03:11 GMT -5
if you do a image search on scale insect and stages, you will see pics and names of those white fluffy scales. it could be cottony cushion scale. do yiu have citrus plants near them? there are many types of different scale insect out there.i have seen a similar scale on my willow tree. mealybugs are bigger, juicier, and are reddish when you squish them. you can also see the tails at the ends of them. and they move! i used to drop them in my pitchers but thank goodness they are gone! as you said vraev, they are not flying when you touch them so you know they are not whiteflies.
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Post by vraev on Mar 15, 2009 21:48:38 GMT -5
Yeah! I am sure they are not whiteflies. Also yeah....they are too small to be mealy bugs. In any case, I have got a Bayer systemic insecticide that I bought and already used it on the heli. The plant seems unaffected and I am hoping the neps would be fine as well. I am planning to use it in the weeks to come on all the plants.
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Post by ellsie on Mar 15, 2009 21:56:40 GMT -5
hmm..... I discounted mealy bugs very early. They weren't powdery or anything. But one thing was for sure...those white things never really moved. My neps do seem to have a dusty appearance now. Still....I guess if its a mealy bug...thats what it is. Yeah! I am going to try those systemic insecticides and see if it helps. I am still waiting for the right time before I spray them all with it. It can't be whitefly. White flies move...these are immobile. I am sure I would have noticed flies if I had them. BUt one thing is for sure though...occassionally, I have spotted only ONE OR TWO FUNGUS GNAT like insects flying around. But never any white flies. Did you say "dusty appearance"?? Huh, then sorry, my bad!! Vreav, are there any palms, cycads near you?? I believe your Nep pics shows the Asian cycad scale(Aulacaspis yasumatsui): The large white "oyster shells" are the adult female scale. The white cylindrical objects are the adult male scales. The small yellow objects are immature scales called crawlers. At least you caught the problem early....and your plants or your entire CP collection didn't look like this:
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Post by vraev on Mar 15, 2009 22:50:24 GMT -5
actually that does look very very close to it. The plants came from a grower who grows them outside in Hawaii. Asian cycad scale is known to be as bad in Miami and hawaii as its back in China. Yeah! I recognise the adult female scale and the male slender ones. damn!! I notice that they are actually prefer a few species of neps more than others. Fusca sarawak was in the same pot as my veitchii for 6 months and the veitchii had minimal effect. The alata was very prone to it. So was talangensis and mira.
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