Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1998 16:22:24 +0100 From: strega@split.it (Tassara) To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg4045$foo@default> Subject: useful "Sphag. moss pests"
Hi list!
>Christensen, it may well be that the tiny bugs about which you speak are
>Springtails - when you blow on them, try to see if some of them 'hop' a few
>millimetres into the air. If this is the case, you have nothing to worry
>about - though sometimes a little disconcerting, these insects pose no
>threat to plants, being detritivores.
>
>It could be a species of springtail (collembola). They like a moist
>environment, like spaghnum moss. The ones I have are white to silverish
>grey, oblong and up to 1 mm long. They are quite fast movers and jump
>when disturbed. Most springtails feed on fungi and decaying vegetative
>matters. They will disappear when it's to dry, but usually they reappear
>when the pots are watered again. Personally, I haven't noticed that they
>cause any damage to my plants, so I just leave them alone.
I've never noted damage to my plants from these tiny animals.
They like very much eating rotten plants and seeds and they discourage the
growth of fungi.
I usually put some of them in my new sowing boxes in order to control fungi
without using fungicides: I thought tis was due to their continuous
movements, but it is also possible that they eat fungi.
Regards
Filippo Tassara
Genoa, Italy
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