Re: Sick Sarracenia
Jeffrey Michael Stein (steinjef@student.msu.edu)
Wed, 24 Aug 1994 14:54:26 -0400 (EDT)
> found zillions of invertebrates. I took new samples into the entomology dept.
> and had it verified as thrips.
>
> To look for thrips, you'll probably need a hand-lens. Look for small crawling
> insects about 0.5--1.0 mm long, and about .25 mm wide. They are elongated
> crawling insects that are semi-transparent (at least mine are). They suck
> fluids and expell droplets onto the plant. I'm going to get rid of mine
> by swabbing the leaves with a bit of alcohol, and letting them sit in shade
> for a few hours as the alcohol dries. They apparently do not enter the roots.
>
> Barry
>
Do thrips have the ability to sit on water w/o breaking the surface tension? I
have some insects that seem to love living in wet & moist soils. They get
flushed out when I water but float around in the terrarium just fine. They have
the ability to stay top of the water and actually jump several centimeters when
disturbed. The have spread to many of my house-plants, but don't seem to cause
a problem for anything. They can get 2-3mm long and are usually clear.
Jeff