What is this bug?

ucman

Member
I think it is a beneficial insect.. it is very small, is clear-white, the picture was taking with a 3.15 MP x4 zoom camera with a 20x scope, the insect is small.. smaller than a grain of rice as big as this period .

Just want to know exactly, I can't nail it on a springtail but ugh, any outside help appreciated!

They seem to just stick in the soil which is good, but they are multiplying..

I use organic promix, buffalom compost tea, buffaloam compost manure, unsulphured molasses, all organic grow.. I assume it is just a bug in the soil

Thank youu!!
 

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ucman

Member
ITS A SMALL ass bug! I don't have super pro 100x scope camera to get the sexy ridges of the bug, sorry :P

6 legs with atennas.. It seems to just crawl, but idk maybe in a blink it hops which would scream springtails!!! haha here is some more pics

smallbugs.jpg
 

BatCave

Well-Known Member
Do the bugs just show up only when you water, and do they just stay in the soil and or crawl up on the pot edges but they are not on the plant themselves? I had a similar situation and took a soil sample to my local shop and the guy called it "soil lice", dont know what the real name is but I got rid of them using GoGnats (cedar oil) soil drench and then added Diatamaceous Earth to my soil, they were gone within a week and havent showed back up in 5 months or so. Mine came from a bag of soil/compost from my local nursery.
 

ucman

Member
They show up only when I water and they stay in the soil and do not crawl up the pot edges or the stem of the plant it seems, so they are not harming the plant at all, I assume they are just feeding on the dead organic materials in the soil, which is okay.. I'm thinking I should just put sand on the top of the soil and call it good
 

sensisensai

Well-Known Member
How tiny is it? I agree with the pinhead cricket comment based on appearance... they're shockingly small at birth. But its hard to tell.
 

ucman

Member
It is like .1-.5mm long.. I really doubt it is baby cricket, I see no cricket eggs or adult crickets, no pest plant damage on my plants. Literally do look like 'small white lice' from a semi distance

It is the middle of winter here.. 0 below, so not very many pest problems to worry at all.... i haven't encountered any other, except these interesting soil bugs


update: I've just smothered the top soil with sand, if it is a cricket, soil lice, springtails, ugh... should at least keep them from coming up.. I hope
 

ucman

Member
They seem to be held down by the sand but a few are afloat when I water.. They don't seem to be of a concern, I assume they are soil bugs from the buffalo compost I use (Buffaloam, good shit)
 
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