TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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Exo
Tastes like chicken!
GrowinOld
Not Growing Up!
I could likely be incorrect,
however it looks like it was enduring unstable, fluctuating conditions. (Water/Light/Temps...etc?)
Like having dry conditions, then lots of water, then dryer again, etc.
Or cool temps, warm and then cold again... you get the idea.
So, is that possible? I don't know the conditions it has been under recently,
however I have seen this sort of thing when there is a lot of variation in conditions for a period of time. If it is new, varying conditions is highly likely, but if you have had it for a long time, you should know what conditions it is experiencing.
Also, the leaf edges are yellowing badly with touches of brown, another indication if less than ideal conditions or changes. (Was it recently moved or exposed to brighter light? Did you try fertilizing it recently or giving it something other than rain/distilled/RO water?)
Either that or like others say...
perhaps it is either just a mutant from another world or is experiencing an infestation of invisible / camouflaged ninja mites!
(It could be Pom-Pom-ing! Need to wait and see for that!)
however it looks like it was enduring unstable, fluctuating conditions. (Water/Light/Temps...etc?)
Like having dry conditions, then lots of water, then dryer again, etc.
Or cool temps, warm and then cold again... you get the idea.
So, is that possible? I don't know the conditions it has been under recently,
however I have seen this sort of thing when there is a lot of variation in conditions for a period of time. If it is new, varying conditions is highly likely, but if you have had it for a long time, you should know what conditions it is experiencing.
Also, the leaf edges are yellowing badly with touches of brown, another indication if less than ideal conditions or changes. (Was it recently moved or exposed to brighter light? Did you try fertilizing it recently or giving it something other than rain/distilled/RO water?)
Either that or like others say...
perhaps it is either just a mutant from another world or is experiencing an infestation of invisible / camouflaged ninja mites!
(It could be Pom-Pom-ing! Need to wait and see for that!)
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Having battled a persistent infestation of spider mites on one particular flytrap for over a year the damage they cause to developing traps is quite familiar.
Mites are between the size of the dot over the i or the period "." on your screen. They can be be any shade of translucent white, yellowish green or reddish orange depending on environmental factors such as temperatures and humidity And yes they are ninja like as they prefer the undersides of leaves. Without magnification you may not see them at all unless they move. They don't like to move but will slowly spread to your other plants if unchecked. Lack of webbing is no guarantee of no mites. Get a 10x magnifier and go over every square mm of your plant.
Avoid imidacloprid found in the Bayer Advanced products as it turns out imidacloprid may act as a synthetic hormone and stimulate egg production in some species of mites. That's probably why I couldn't get rid of my infestation even though the Bayer Advanced product said it was for spider mites too. I resorted to a heavy duty pyrethrin - permethin.
Mites are between the size of the dot over the i or the period "." on your screen. They can be be any shade of translucent white, yellowish green or reddish orange depending on environmental factors such as temperatures and humidity And yes they are ninja like as they prefer the undersides of leaves. Without magnification you may not see them at all unless they move. They don't like to move but will slowly spread to your other plants if unchecked. Lack of webbing is no guarantee of no mites. Get a 10x magnifier and go over every square mm of your plant.
Avoid imidacloprid found in the Bayer Advanced products as it turns out imidacloprid may act as a synthetic hormone and stimulate egg production in some species of mites. That's probably why I couldn't get rid of my infestation even though the Bayer Advanced product said it was for spider mites too. I resorted to a heavy duty pyrethrin - permethin.
GrowinOld
Not Growing Up!
It seems like magnification time! 
We want to see some cool mite pics!
I keep a few eye loupes and lenses around for things like this, and they are invaluable!
Also good for removing splinters in my fingers!
That should help you decide what to do next, for if you see them, it explains everything, including their eminent destruction!
If you find none, then you alone must still decide! Do nothing and wait.... , look for other causes, or spray the plant "just in case". Ah, look at all the experience you are getting thru this! Looking at plants and things "up close" is not to be missed either! I would suggest getting a close-up lens of sorts anyway, if you don't already have one.
Why would they only be on this plant? Easy question! (I have had one plant colonized in my greenhouse, while nearby plants were totally unaffected!) And why...? Well, taste of course!
In fact, I had a certain garden poppy in my yard years ago, that the aphids loved! But only this one variety! (It was an annual "drug" type poppy that used to be commonly sold because it had really nice flowers, before everyone worried that growing these would turn everyone into addicts!) Anyway, all the aphids would turn black from the resin and THEY were the ones who apparently got addicted to it! Wouldn't touch another plant, but were all over these! So yea, my vote is "taste", right after "they like it 'cause it makes them high"!
And it seems Bayer Advanced has "improved" their product with imidacloprid , as it now kills bugs and then makes you need to buy more!
We want to see some cool mite pics!I keep a few eye loupes and lenses around for things like this, and they are invaluable!
Also good for removing splinters in my fingers!
That should help you decide what to do next, for if you see them, it explains everything, including their eminent destruction!
If you find none, then you alone must still decide! Do nothing and wait.... , look for other causes, or spray the plant "just in case". Ah, look at all the experience you are getting thru this! Looking at plants and things "up close" is not to be missed either! I would suggest getting a close-up lens of sorts anyway, if you don't already have one.
Why would they only be on this plant? Easy question! (I have had one plant colonized in my greenhouse, while nearby plants were totally unaffected!) And why...? Well, taste of course!
In fact, I had a certain garden poppy in my yard years ago, that the aphids loved! But only this one variety! (It was an annual "drug" type poppy that used to be commonly sold because it had really nice flowers, before everyone worried that growing these would turn everyone into addicts!) Anyway, all the aphids would turn black from the resin and THEY were the ones who apparently got addicted to it! Wouldn't touch another plant, but were all over these! So yea, my vote is "taste", right after "they like it 'cause it makes them high"!
And it seems Bayer Advanced has "improved" their product with imidacloprid , as it now kills bugs and then makes you need to buy more!
It could be mites, but it doesn't look like the symptoms I've seen when my plants get mites. Usually the leaves get small brown spots on them and the edges of the petiole brown.
As GrowinOld says, get a loupe or a magnifying glass. If you don't have any vision problems, you should be able to see them crawling around on the leaves.
For treating mites, I use Avid miticide. It seems to work well, but it's expensive. Other options are neem oil, Orethenex (by Orthene) and spraying with cold water regularly. None of these other options seem to eradicate mites though, which is why I resorted to a heavy duty miticide.
As GrowinOld says, get a loupe or a magnifying glass. If you don't have any vision problems, you should be able to see them crawling around on the leaves.
For treating mites, I use Avid miticide. It seems to work well, but it's expensive. Other options are neem oil, Orethenex (by Orthene) and spraying with cold water regularly. None of these other options seem to eradicate mites though, which is why I resorted to a heavy duty miticide.
I had some photos of the sort of damage I was getting but I appear to have deleted most of them from my camera without downloading them. Here are descriptions:
1) Parallel ribbing on the traps - perpendicular to the hinge/petiole - usually an early warning sign.
2) Globular smaller traps - the margins and cilia would curl inward rather than slightly outward
3) Knobby or pointed bumps on traps
4) Shrunken, deformed flower buds - no flowers
5) deformed or crestated flower stalks
6) Sandpaper or sharkskin texture on the flower stalks and leaf bases (most people call this the petiole)
Close examination under magnification revealed the sandpaper texture was caused by mites attached or embedded into the surface of the plant. Much in the manner of a tick. The mites were reluctant to move even when prodded with a needle or tip of a knife. They could be removed by scraping or rubbing them off with a dilute alcohol solution. I even tried burning them off with a magnifying lens.
Why one plant? Your guess is a good as mine. Spider mites don't move around much. They'll be on one plant and none of the other in the same pot and then 3 or 4 pots away on another. And a few feet away a whole tray will be infested.
There are some of the bumps on the trap at 8:30 O'clock but they aren't visible in the photo
1) Parallel ribbing on the traps - perpendicular to the hinge/petiole - usually an early warning sign.
2) Globular smaller traps - the margins and cilia would curl inward rather than slightly outward
3) Knobby or pointed bumps on traps
4) Shrunken, deformed flower buds - no flowers
5) deformed or crestated flower stalks
6) Sandpaper or sharkskin texture on the flower stalks and leaf bases (most people call this the petiole)
Close examination under magnification revealed the sandpaper texture was caused by mites attached or embedded into the surface of the plant. Much in the manner of a tick. The mites were reluctant to move even when prodded with a needle or tip of a knife. They could be removed by scraping or rubbing them off with a dilute alcohol solution. I even tried burning them off with a magnifying lens.
Why one plant? Your guess is a good as mine. Spider mites don't move around much. They'll be on one plant and none of the other in the same pot and then 3 or 4 pots away on another. And a few feet away a whole tray will be infested.
There are some of the bumps on the trap at 8:30 O'clock but they aren't visible in the photo
