can anyone identify these bugs for me?

[fartbox]

just stepped into a new warehouse growing for a dispensary and WOW it needs some love. deficiencies everywhere, so I decided immediately check for bugs. There were the typical gnats and light spider mites (which is a bummer)... but also these little things which I've never had the displeasure of encountering.



i saw these crawling all over the tops of the soil in some of the pots in veg and I can't tell if they are broad mites or russet mites... 99% sure it isn't root aphids (aren't they yellowish and more elongated?) these seem to be milky white and translucent.

thanks, friends!

 

[fartbox]

starting to think they're just predatory mites? here's a pic i found online of one eating a spidermite

 

[Seamaiden]

That's what I think. If they're on the soil and not the plant, then my initial thoughts would be they're there for something that's in or on the soil. However, having them there doesn't mean they'll do the whole job for you, so you might want to search through @Coir's posts regarding use of beneficial bugs, he's shared a lot of really useful information on sourcing and such.

 

[souf69]

Baby aphids is my guess. Pull plants out of pot and grab a handful of the root mass, put it on a white sheet of paper and look good.

 

[souf69]

And I dont think its eating a mite, looks like undeveloped broads....

 

[fartbox]

That's what I think. If they're on the soil and not the plant, then my initial thoughts would be they're there for something that's in or on the soil. However, having them there doesn't mean they'll do the whole job for you, so you might want to search through @Coir's posts regarding use of beneficial bugs, he's shared a lot of really useful information on sourcing and such.

Awesome thanks for the tip!

Baby aphids is my guess. Pull plants out of pot and grab a handful of the root mass, put it on a white sheet of paper and look good.

Yeah I actually think you might be right... i put one of the critters on a piece of white paper yesterday and it looked a little yellow actually. If it's aphids, why aren't I seeing adults? I haven't seen any wings on them or anything. I actually noticed them in the other garden today too. Ugh this is a bit frustrating- gonna take some out of the actual root mass and inspect today.

 

[souf69]

The adults that laid them are more than likely fliers. They'll turn greenish brown with two tail pipes. If you have russets and aphids fuqq??? Start over or get ready to bust out some cash for the treatments. Aphids is one thing but both is like a farmers worst nigjtmare. Aphids almost bankrupted France back in the day....