Subject: Re: What's this on my African Violets?

From: Susan Sanders <[email-masked]>
Date: 22 Mar 1995 21:19:46 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> Mary Panza,
[email-masked] writes:
>violets if I tap the pot. I can't get a good look at the little crawling
>specs (that's what they look like) even with a magnifying lense. I've

Crawling specks are usually spider mites (one of the tests for spider
mites is to tap the suspect plant while holding it over a sheet of white
paper, and seeing if any of the specks that falls off starts to crawl),
though I've not heard of them as a common pest of african violets.  Are
there other plants nearby that they could have come from?  They're
particularly fond of certain palms and ivies.          -Sue Sanders

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From: [email-masked] (Mary Panza)
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 15:06:58 GMT

I've recently noticed that a few very small bugs fall out of my African
violets if I tap the pot. I can't get a good look at the little crawling
specs (that's what they look like) even with a magnifying lense. I've
checked the plants over and haven't noticed any damage beyond the normal
bumps you'd expect in a commerically grown and transported plant. I can't
see anything resembling the pictures of white flies. No tunnelling on the
leaves, in fact the leaves look pretty good. The plants are blooming well
and look otherwise healthy. 

Can anyone shed some light on what these crawling specs might be? Are they
"adult" white flies? 
And should I be worried and trying to kill them off? 

Thanks for any help. 

-Mary Panza

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[email-masked]
Disclaimer: My company's intellectual property rights extend only to the
work I do for them. I doubt they want any part of my personal opinions.

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From: Susan Sanders <[email-masked]>
Date: 22 Mar 1995 21:19:46 GMT