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Thu, Sep 23, 10 at 15:11
| Hello!
Yesterday, I took some soil from a pot and put it in a small cup. I filled it with water and I saw many of those white bugs floating. When the water receded, they went back into the soil. I caught some of them with a toothpic and I managed to take some pictures of them with a cheap microscope. [see attachment] As you can see, the creature is 1mm in length. It has two thick hairy... antennas(?). Some legs along its body and a hairy... ass :p I would be grateful if someone here could recognise it so I can defend my plants if it's going to pose a threat to them. A few months ago, all of my tomato plants, a pumpkin plant and a mellon plant ended up as food for some spidermites. I can't let those white bugs do something similar... |
Image link: Minuscule white bugs. [picture from microscope included] (15 k)
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![Minuscule white bugs. [picture from microscope included] (15 k)](/forums/pests/msg0915113911607.jpg){kind=link}
| Sorry there's not enough detail there. BTW what good is a microscope that shows a shadow with no detail? My digital camera would do better. Did you by chance post the wrong picture? |
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| The description sounds like, and the picture looks to me like, a springtail. Pretty harmless little characters. They like moist places and eat decaying organic matter. |
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| I'm still chuckling at this image. I love the effort you took. I agree with garb that I 'think' I can see the silhouette of a springtail, but also agree with Taz that the microimage made it difficult to identify. Anything that you can spear with a toothpick can be zoomed in on with your digital. Sort of looks like a hand shadow puppet we did as kids. ;-) |
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| Looks like a springtail to me. |
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| @taz1622 A cheap one! :P Just like mine. But it's not like this when you look with your eyes. The picture came out like a shadow because I had to manually set the focus, exposure and shutter speed. With the AUTO feature, the only thing you would see is a bright dot! :p I tried to zoom at it with my digital camera but I couldn't get something better than the first picture.. http://www.imagehosting.gr/out.php/i1454596_img-0938.jpg The circled white dots are the creatures. The others are specs of dust. But I am sure that your assumptions are correct and they are springtails. Because, with the microscope and my eyes not the camera, I can see them with much more detail. When they are alive and moving, they slip on the glass and I can see them sideways. They look exactly like these two So I think it is ok to plant some lettuces. |
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| If they're popping like popcorn when disturbed they're springtails, Otherwise???? When I had a bunch of springtails in a bowl of sphagnum moss and watered it, it looked like I'd just poured soda pop. |
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