White bugs...

[HeatherRose]

Hey guys.

Recently I've found these little white bugs in my pac man Herbie's cage... I ONLY see them in the dirt of the potted pothos plants in the enclosure and I've found many floating in his water dish, not on Herbie himself or in his substrate (eco-earth) He is still eating his crickets, mealies, silkies and fingers like mad, chirping and pooping regularly.

The bugs are about the size of snake mites, maybe smaller, and appear more oval-shaped, than round. They're bright white and appear to have little wings that flutter around when they're floating in the water, but I haven't seen them flying around any. They move extremely fast and look like they're jumping from place to place, in the same manner that jumping spiders move.

The substrate was brand new and right out of the package when it was placed in his enclosure (a large faunarium) but the plant had been on a shelf in my room before I put it in with him. When I first saw them, they were running around on the soil in the plant. I've removed the plant, but I'm going to have to put another one in for humidity and cover.

Does anyone have any idea what these things are and has anyone seen them before? I haven't seen them in any other enclosure, even in the ones that also have eco-earth as a substrate.

[Shad0w]

Heather, they could be whitefly's... they are pretty common on ornamental plants.

take a look at this page.. might help figuring out what you have:

http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/ornamentals/mbugswp.html

You will most likely need an insecticidal soap spray for your plants...

But other than buggin the plants.. the insects wont hurt your herps :)

[DragnDrop]

I'm thinking springtails (Collembola (http://www.missouri.edu/~bioscish/coll.html) )

You've got the perfect environment for them, and they come in as hitchhikers on plants and substrate. They float (probably never had one of their kind drown, ever), they 'jump' and are harmless. If you have dart frogs, you've got a great food source for the frogs.

[Double J]

I agree with Hilde...... sounds most definitely like springtails. Absolutely harmless in every way. I have springtails in all of my amphibian tanks.... and they are a great treat for the small stuff like darts and mantellas. Your horned frog will not eat them of course..... but there is no need to get rid of them or worry about them in any way. If you have oak leaf litter in your tank, the springtails will go crazy, whch is never a bad thing. To me.. this is one of the best parts about amphibian keeping.... the fact that you have elements of eco-systems in the vivarium..... plants, leaf litter, fungi (not all are bad!), springtails, fungus gnats, mosses, and your animals themselves....... all are healthy parts of a living vivarium which to me, is far more interesting than paper towel, and a water dish.

[Double J]

Originally posted by Shad0w

You will most likely need an insecticidal soap spray for your plants...

But other than buggin the plants.. they wont hurt your herps :)

!!!!!!! These sorts of chemicals result in a rather quick death when used around amphibians. Amphibians are far more sensitive to environmental toxins than any reptile.
Even if there were whiteflies, there is really no reason to get rid of them anyway, especially with chemical warfare.

The only inverts you need to worry about in an amphibian tank are centipedes (not to be confused with millipedes!), spiders, and ants. Slugs are no slice of fun either.
Stuff like rollie pollies, springtails, fungus gnats, earthworms...... are nothing to worry about and can actually be a useful food source in the right situation. Amphibian tanks do not need to be super-sterile by any means... though they do need to be well tended......but you need not use sterilized soil or anything silly like that.

[peterm15]

id say maybe whiteflys

http://www.biocontrol.ucr.edu/photos/rbw/rbwadult.jpg

thats a blown up picture

http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/images/whtflies.jpg

but thats most likely what youll see.. there common on hibicus..

[Shad0w]

Double J,

Maybe my wording was not right :)

I never implied using it around amphibians :)... I would not us it around herps either.. :)
Sorry for the confusion :)

And I agree.. there really is no need to treat the plants... unless you are worried about the sap suckers spreading to other plants in the house :)

Hope this clears up what I meant :D

[Double J]

No prob Shadow :rsmile:
Just making sure :medbigsmi

These new emoticons rock :firestart :firestart :firestart

:medclown: :medpuke: :medgeek: :groove:

[Stockwell]

Heather, I've always been plagued by similar things I was told were called "wood mites" but the ones I get don't jump,or have wings, but can get thick enough to look like a small cloud. I've had them a half inch deep in meal worm cultures, and they can flow up an over the brim of most containers, although they don't usually seem to move very fast... must be something different
Most herpers with bug cultures and moist vivaria seem to have an assortment of these pests.

[DragnDrop]

I've had wood mites and grain mites in various cultures and enclosures, but these guys don't sound like them. The mites seem to make the earth move, somewhat creepy until you get used to it. The jumping and floating characteristics made me think of the springtails right away.

[HeatherRose]

Thanks a ton for the help guys... I'm going to change the plant anyway, but it's good to know that there's not much to worry about.

Thanks again :D