Bug Identification Required Please!

[RedEyeJedi01]

Hey guys, I got three autos growing in promix hp, 3gal pots.

The past couple weeks I've noticed a bug here and there. Very tiny and I could only ever find one at any given time and I'd try to find more, I would.

Right now, all three plants are nearly 7 weeks old, I happened to check them after work today and I quickly spotted at least two on one plant, different areas.

So, I just spent the past 3 and half hours trying to find one and get him under a scope. I eventually was able to snap a good shot on the leaf and then I caught one with some clear packing tape and attempted to take pictures. I have attached the pictures here along with shots of what the plants look like as well.


I've personally never had spider mites in four years of growing, I suppose I've been lucky. These kinda look like spider mites, but none that I've been able to commonly identify using numerous images from other forums. All I tend to find images of are the two-spotted mites, red carmine mites and hemp something mites. Insofar as I have seen, these don't look like those.

I did not notice any spots, these mites look almost translucent or a pale white, but neither could I find information on mites in that description, so I'm needing some expertise if anyone could kindly lend an eye!

Actually kinda starting to think maybe they're fuckin dust mites?? That's what they look like to me when trying to compare images. I did also recently have to clean the vents of heavy dust, though I used a wet/dry vac, they plants definitely got pretty dusted, this was a couple weeks ago.

Though why dust mites might have remained on the plants, I don't know...I'm just trying to stay postive


So far, I don't think I've seen many leaves that had potentially been fed on, maybe 6-7 that I cut in an attempt to locate some more of the insects, I think on only one of them I found a single mite/bug/whatever. All the other leaves look impeccable, moreorless, I have been hitting them a little hard with PK, hence the nute burn on tips

 

[RedEyeJedi01]

Any ideas? I really need some help identifying these guys =(

 

[frizfrazjaz]

Any ideas? I really need some help identifying these guys =(

I haven't had them yet, but broad mites have a translucent appearance like that.

 

[RedEyeJedi01]

I haven't had them yet, but broad mites have a translucent appearance like that.

That's for the input! Hmm, not sure I saw those, fuck it kinda looks like it could be, maybe? Looking at BM symptoms, at least right now it doesn't seem like I'm experiencing any of those symptoms

Hmmmm, anybody else able to kindly lend an expert opinion?

 

[frizfrazjaz]

That's for the input! Hmm, not sure I saw those, fuck it kinda looks like it could be, maybe? Looking at BM symptoms, at least right now it doesn't seem like I'm experiencing any of those symptoms

Hmmmm, anybody else able to kindly lend an expert opinion?

Yeah, symptoms alone, if you're having any, is a good way to start. Plants look good though. Oh, and nice pics.

 

[RedEyeJedi01]

If it helps, I can see these little buggers with the naked eye. I mean, they're small as hell, but if I look closely in good light, I can clearly see them scurrying.

I also do not see them in any heavy concentrations, I mean sometimes I can find 1 or 2 in like a minute, but more often than not, it can take me like 15-30 minutes to really find one, so they seem sparse.

They way I've been LSTing makes it difficult in some places to check the undergrowth, but I've been diligently checking what I can each day the underside of leaves and stems, so far I'm not seeing much activity except their presence. I can generally find maybe 3-5 of the little buggers right after the lights turn on, I think they seem to be photosensitive, which seems to be a trait of dust mites and not broad mites.

I was trying to compare these to a broad mite, but these mites seem to have a lot of hairs on them and from what I've briefly read up on broad mites is that the males have no hairs and females have one long hair, anybody with experience otherwise?

I've read that they're also smaller than dust mites coming in a 0.1mm and dust mites ranging between 0.2-0.3mm, so perhaps that lends more credence to the possibility of them being relatively harmless dust mites, that I can see them visibly and that I've yet to notice any real damage?

Any possible sign of mite feeding on the leaves (which has been very minimal, maybe like 10-12 leaves between the 3 plants) is hard to attribute specifically to mites, as I do foliar spray occasionally and a lot of leaves tend to get splashed with nutrient water. Overall the leaves look healthy to me, more or less, with exception to the nute burn

They still concern me greatly, so if anybody can lend a more experience eye, I've only ever dealt with soil mites "/

 

[RedEyeJedi01]

Anybody else have experience with mites or think they might know what these are?? =(

 

[AnimaSola]

Fast moving generally means thry are predators looking for a bug to eat. Slow moving ones are usually munching your plant or the roots and dirt. The one pic looks kinda like a thrip but none of the others really do. Where are they at and how do they act?

 

[RedEyeJedi01]

Fast moving generally means thry are predators looking for a bug to eat. Slow moving ones are usually munching your plant or the roots and dirt. The one pic looks kinda like a thrip but none of the others really do. Where are they at and how do they act?

Thanks for the reply!

Man, they seem to move fairly quickly when they are scurrying. Shit, it literally almost took me four hours just to get these pictures (partly because they're small, but also because they move quickly. They were taken at various zooms, between 60x and 100x, the first pic I think was at 60X and I managed to get one not moving, he was on top of the leaf.

I will often find them scurrying up and down stems, over garden staples and sometimes under leaves. I usually find them in the deeper vegetation when the lights are on i.e where it's dark, shadier.

When I first started noticing them, I was frequently checking the soil as well, because I have had issue with soil mites in the past when I was running an organic grow, but I haven't seen any soil/substrate activity.

When I see them under the leaves, I usually only see one, really don't think I've ever seen two on the same leaf at the same time, concentrations don't seem to heavy either. When the light turns on initially, I can find a few of them pretty quickly, but after an hour and definitely before the lights are out, I might find one or two.

I just got some Ed Rosenthals Zero Tolerance today, so was going to try that out when I get off work, but obviously if they turn out to be harmless, I'd rather not spray anything on them.


My problem is that I don't feel that I'm seeing enough defining symptoms, insofar as what I've seen in regards to plant symptoms for any type of mite and it's stressing me the hell out

 

[AnimaSola]

Thanks for the reply!

Man, they seem to move fairly quickly when they are scurrying. Shit, it literally almost took me four hours just to get these pictures (partly because they're small, but also because they move quickly. They were taken at various zooms, between 60x and 100x, the first pic I think was at 60X and I managed to get one not moving, he was on top of the leaf.

I will often find them scurrying up and down stems, over garden staples and sometimes under leaves. I usually find them in the deeper vegetation when the lights are on i.e where it's dark, shadier.

When I first started noticing them, I was frequently checking the soil as well, because I have had issue with soil mites in the past when I was running an organic grow, but I haven't seen any soil/substrate activity.

When I see them under the leaves, I usually only see one, really don't think I've ever seen two on the same leaf at the same time, concentrations don't seem to heavy either. When the light turns on initially, I can find a few of them pretty quickly, but after an hour and definitely before the lights are out, I might find one or two.

I just got some Ed Rosenthals Zero Tolerance today, so was going to try that out when I get off work, but obviously if they turn out to be harmless, I'd rather not spray anything on them.


My problem is that I don't feel that I'm seeing enough defining symptoms, insofar as what I've seen in regards to plant symptoms for any type of mite and it's stressing me the hell out

Sounds like thrips and the one close up looks just like a thrip, you may have just caught them before they became an infestation. Azamax or neem alternated with spinosad treatments should knock them out no problem.

 

[Hippie66]

What type (brand) of soil are you using?

 

[Hippie66]

My last run, about halfway thru veg I noticed a very similar looking critter scurrying around my soil, pot lips, and the plants themselves. I took a couple of samples to my local grow shop, and he told me that they were a beneficial mite that Foxfarms had been rumored to be adding to the soul in an effort to control fungus gnats. Now on my current grow, I had a horrible gnat issue from the start, and at about four weeks in I again noticed the mites. First instinct was to spray, but sure enough, the gnats are no longer present. Looked a lot like what you are showing.

 

[RedEyeJedi01]

What type (brand) of soil are you using?

I'm using Promix HP substrate

 

[Hippie66]

Well hopefully they are beneficial. I know I will probably not be using FF going forward. Good luck to you. Hopefully someone can help you more than I can. Was a thought is all.

 

[AnimaSola]

They look like young thrips to me, it would be like a where's Waldo nightmare trying to find thrip damage in those pictures. Check the underside of the bottom leaves before lights on for groups of the huddling together.