I got a pot of tulips from Wal-mart for valentines day. After the blooms died i just let the foliage die back so i could plant the bulbs in the ground.I went back and got a pot of Calla Lily after i got the tulips.When the tulips had died back and dried out,i dumped the pot of soil & bulbs into a large bucket to get the bulbs out.I noticed a couple of them felt like there was something under the skin that's on them,i pulled the skin back and there were teeny tiny little worms probably baby's eating away at the bulbs until the matured into something.

The Calla Lily still had green foliage and some of the bulbs were getting new growth so i kept that pot inside.Evidently whatever nursery Wal-mart uses has a bug problem.Today i noticed the foliage left had bugs covering it,lots of little bugs.I went straight outside with the pot and at first i thought mealy bugs.After taking a picture and putting on my glasses.I realized they didn't look like what i thought mealy bugs look like.

They were not there yesterday i'm fairly sure i would have noticed i mist my plants.Come to think of it my grandchild wanted to mist and misted the foliage on the Calla's could the water & heat have helped them mature.I never did look at the bulbs of the Calla lily's.

I have only had a problem with bugs in my house a couple of times but i did have mealy bugs in a succulent there was only a few bugs i killed them all with a sharp object and sprayed,never seen any more.

But these aren't white,fuzzy looking they don't have the hairy stuff sticking out from around them,no white netting or cotton looking stuff.They look to be a light tan and i thought they were green but maybe i was seeing the green foliage through them??

Wish i had better camera or a tripod maybe took forever to focus in on them being so tiny.

Any opinions or advice i will truly appreciate, i hope they didn't get into the other plants they were siting among!

When you disturb the plant, do the insects fly up and about, kind of like a mini-swarm? so, you probably have white flies. If they don't fly around, you may have aphids (though young aphids can fly). Regardless, you definitely want to isolate this plant, and I would isolate all other plants close by, but separate from the one infested. There are several products available to control whatever insect you have, but I would simply use Orthene powder. I use it routinely for fire ants and it is the most effective killer/control for these nasty insects I have found (without going commercial, needing a special permit). For ornamental use, mix 1 tbl of powder in a gal. of water and they spray it on every part of the plant you can reach. A good pump up sprayer works best. I would spray every plant you even think might be infested. You might have to repeat this spray in a week, but I doubt you will. Ken Ramsey, Certified Mississippi Master Gardener

No they don't fly and they weren't there one day and there the next.I have been keeping an eye on the plants that were around it all being Christmas cactus & Epi's,so far haven't seen any.Usually every year i use a Bayers systemic product on my plants right before i bring them in because it kills everything that bites into or drinks from the plant,which will kill off even the good insect.That's why i use it right before i bring them in.Even though i was letting these die back they still have a good root system to absorb the Bayers.Then i can go ahead and let the foliage die and they won't come back until next year & bats will have worn off by then.I got lucky with the pot of tulips i just happened to dump that pot out to get the bulbs & found them on the bulbs still in the larva stage!!

I will look for the Orthene powder!! How difficult is it to find or where can i get it.Would Lowes or Home depot carry it.I have been looking for something that's not systemic but works.


Thank you so much for your help
The pot is sitting outside on a metal table & the birds are having a feast!!

I get mine at Lowe's. It will be in the "garden" section. Ken

Ken,I got a better look at some of these little critters with a magnifying glass.They are green,tiny black eyes,3 pairs of legs,no wings i could see & antenna's on their heads.When i shook the pot they fell onto the soil and then walked back to a piece foliage to climb back up.I'm going to look up some plant pest,to see if i can ID them.


THANK YOU FOR YOUR ADVICE & TIME!!!!!

Check "aphids", JoJoe.

I agree, looks like Aphids to me too: http://www.google.com/search?q...

will do thanks,i believe i have killed them with a Bayer product i forgot i had.Kills on soil & under soil larvae,grubs,bugs etc... for three months.So hopefully if there are anymore larvae in the soil it will get them if not now when they turn into crawling bugs.

Have a good night

Thanks for the kind words, JoJoe. I'll send you a Tree-Mail. Ken

Good morning & thanks, Ken & Lin,(that rhymed in my head)

I thought for some reason Aphids were all red.When i looked them up i seen the bugs that was on my Calla Lily.

Of course i have one more question the Aphids started out as larvae (sp.correct??) on the bulbs.The Tulip bulbs are where i found them as larvae & killed them the best i could,then put them in a ziploc bag removed the air & zipped them up leaving them out in freezing to 80 degree temp.'s .They were between the top layer of skin & the bulb.I noticed them under there because there was a substance that looked liked peat moss.I guess maybe it was what they were leaving behind as they ate the bulb.What should i do with these bulbs, are they safe to plant?

Jelinda, if you can plant the bulbs/plants outside now, do that. That way Mother Nature can do a lot of the work for you. Aphids seem to be a lot more of a problem in the house or the greenhouse enviornments. I would still soak the bulbs/plants in the diluted insecticide for 2-5 minutes, whether going in the house or outside. If you see any evidence of the aphids after a week or two, spray the plant(s) with the insecticide. Be sure to get the bottom of the leaves as well. You want to kill the adults BEFORE they have a chance to lay their eggs, and that ends their cycle. Neem oil and Permethrin are relatively enviornmentally safe and Malathion is very effective, but not so enviornmental-friendly.

Aphids actually come in a lot of colors - red, brown, yellow, green. Sometimes if is the species of aphid and sometimes it is the age of the aphid. Ken