Mite ID

[Hman2853]

What is up! Nearing harvest and of course I found these mites on the lower buds of my sour diesel auto yesterday. It is in week 9, about a week or two left to go, and is growing in FFOF with a biotab in it in an Honor pot. These mites are primarily in the soil and crawling in and out of the holes in the fabric pot. I think they only recently moved into the lower buds which have been removed. Most of the buds are untouched at this point. I have two Mephisto grows going on in coco/autopots on each side of this plant that appear completely unaffected.

I'm growing three plants in a small grow tent and haven't had any real issues this time around until now. Been spraying og biowar brew every few weeks.

I removed the buds they had moved into- 90% were dead when I found them, but one or two mites were still moving.

Looks like the OG Biowar foliar pack had already gotten to the ones I noticed, in any event I sprayed with some Dr. Zymes and am going to keep doing so.

What are these mites? Mold mites? Bulb mites? Predatory mites?

I was able to take the attached videos.

thanks for your time!

 

[dire wolf]

Thank you for the nightmare fuel ....

 

[Beachwalker]

@Seraphine would know what they are but I haven't seen her in a while?

 

[One drop]

Aphid lions

 

[Hman2853]

@ beachwalker I saw Seraphine's detailed posts when I was searching earlier and it seemed she was dealing with the same critters that I am seeing. Same appearance and these are on the soil and sides of pots in addition to lower leaves just as hers were.

Right now I'm not freaking out as (a) they are mostly dead and on popcorn buds that I removed and (b) I don't think they are spider mites (white blob appearance with no spots)

I do not think they are aphid lions, just googling that doesn't even look close to what I posted?

 

[Dirtbag]

He may have meant, you should employ some aphid lions to eat those. Some type of mite by the looks, but not sure which. Are they harming the plant other than just crawling all over it?

 

[Hman2853]

No marks or spots on the plant just the yellow fade over flowering. These little mites do not appear to be harming anything. Buds developed nicely and smell great, super resiny. But I do not want to smoke the mites. And they are ugly AF.

Lol re: aphid lions. I need some of those. they sound badass.

 

[Dirtbag]

No marks or spots on the plant just the yellow fade over flowering. These little mites do not appear to be harming anything. Buds developed nicely and smell great, super resiny. But I do not want to smoke the mites. And they are ugly AF.

It could even just be a population explosion of beneficial soil mites. But like you said its gross to think about. Maybe a post harvest wash...

 

[Seraphine]

What is up! Nearing harvest and of course I found these mites on the lower buds of my sour diesel auto yesterday. It is in week 9, about a week or two left to go, and is growing in FFOF with a biotab in it in an Honor pot. These mites are primarily in the soil and crawling in and out of the holes in the fabric pot. I think they only recently moved into the lower buds which have been removed. Most of the buds are untouched at this point. I have two Mephisto grows going on in coco/autopots on each side of this plant that appear completely unaffected.

I'm growing three plants in a small grow tent and haven't had any real issues this time around until now. Been spraying og biowar brew every few weeks.

I removed the buds they had moved into- 90% were dead when I found them, but one or two mites were still moving.

Looks like the OG Biowar foliar pack had already gotten to the ones I noticed, in any event I sprayed with some Dr. Zymes and am going to keep doing so.

What are these mites? Mold mites? Bulb mites? Predatory mites?

I was able to take the attached videos.

thanks for your time!

Sorry I’ve been MIA! Those look exactly like what I had/have. I’ve made my peace with them since they didn’t cause any damage. You could sprinkle some diatomaceous earth on the main stem to keep from from crawling up your plant. As long as you don’t see damage, don’t worry about them.

 

[Seraphine]

I pulled my hair out trying to identify these little mites. I’ve ruled out any of the harmful pests like bulb mites. I’ve concluded they are a soil mite and like to feed on the dying roots as they grow through the fabric pots.

 

[PipeCarver]

No marks or spots on the plant just the yellow fade over flowering. These little mites do not appear to be harming anything. Buds developed nicely and smell great, super resiny. But I do not want to smoke the mites. And they are ugly AF.

Lol re: aphid lions. I need some of those. they sound badass.

Look into bud washing at harvest, I'm now a huge fan of it. I did a 3 step wash because of spider mites & the debris that came off makes me sick to think I've been smoking that shit. I'll be washing on every harvest, I love how it condensed the buds in drying as well.

 

[Hman2853]

Brief and probably finally update- these things seemed to be under control in the 3 gallon soil pot that I noticed them in. I sprayed Lost Coast and Dr Zymes, but they significantly bounced back over 4 days in the soil and all over the airport. Only a few going up into the flowers but that seemed to be increasing. They exploded in numbers- I noticed it immediately as they began to search elsewhere for food.

I put the plant outside and harvested the probably 1/2 of it that was still untouched, buds look nice. Not sure what I’m gonna do with the rest other than let it keep ripening in the sun. I will definitely be bud washing, thanks for the tip!

I hope they don’t infest my autopots left in the tent. I’ve put DE on the stem down low to keep them off. Right now it’s looking like they are mostly gone... :/

 

[DistyDemon]

Do they move fast or slow?

Since you mentioned ffof soil, my best guess is a hyposasis miles . It's a good bug.

I can see them move with my naked eye. I have exceptional eyesight....... even though I rock a 65"led slim panel 4k tv that costs more than most mortgages for 2 months.

 

[Hman2853]

They are fast. Very hard to keep under the hand scope at 60-100x. I'd say they can cover an inch in 20-30 seconds. They also show up on the flowers and appear to die, which is gross. I don't see them doing anything other than dying on the flowers and swarming on the base of the airpot. I posted clear video (or what I would think is clear video) of them.

I'm not sure they are hypoaspis miles.

I'm like you, great vision, I can see them clearly with the naked eye. I do NOT want them moving onto my nice mephisto autopots ive had going for 60 days. bud looks soooo good on them and there are no mites at all on the plants right now.


I budwashed the sour diesel and was very disgusted with the first rinse, there was lots of detritus on the buds. I'm glad I acted fast and harvested a week early, I saved a lot of bud from getting mites in it. What I've got drying is very clean and had no visible mites even before wash. Anything with mites was thrown away or is still growing on the plant and will be made into edible or pressed into rosin. or thrown away. not sure yet.

If they are hypoaspis miles, to breed them you just need FFOF, a biotab, and regular waterings of molasses apparently to make them explode LOL.

Edited to add: thanks to everyone for the help and discussion

 

[Dirtbag]

I pulled my hair out trying to identify these little mites. I’ve ruled out any of the harmful pests like bulb mites. I’ve concluded they are a soil mite and like to feed on the dying roots as they grow through the fabric pots.

I think you are right. For every bad pest there is a similar good or neutral insect it seems. Something like H miles is actually really good to have.

 

[MaryDankster]

having the exact same issue. Anyone ever truly identify these lil buggers?