I didn't know it was there, either, Deb. I just kind of went "whaaa.....???" Had to look back and forth a couple of times to see it was a different forum. Duh!

Hi all! I found this thread in a desperate attempt to figure out what is killing my plants, and I hope you are able to help! I have what once was a GORGEOUS and huge spider plant, and now it is mostly gone and mostly dead from this unknown creature. I found this thick webbing towards the base of the plant and what look like thousands of black seeds in amongst the web. I have caught a glimpse of this tiny earwig looking creature a couple of times, but it just dives out of sight. I found a small patch on my succulent plant and desperately cleared it away. I'll get a picture here in a moment to post. Any info or help is so appreciated! Thank you!

What you describe as "webbing" makes me think of spider mites. You can try rinsing them off, but it the infestation is that bad, you might want to try an insecticide.

You mentioned an earwig-like creature, have you been out at night with a flashlight and checked for earwigs? Can you tell if the black seeds are insect droppings? Earwigs like to hang out in the bases of daylilies, which are related and similar in form to spider plants. They leave lots of droppings there although in your plant they look more round than usual.

I have tried to go out and check at night, but have not seen much. I have seen the actual insects three times, but the bugs look much much smaller than the earwigs I am used to seeing. They also go backwards? Which I thought was odd.

I thought about spider mites, but the webbing is only at the very base of the plant, and does not extend up.

I have tried rubbing the little black things in between my fingers and they are dry. They really feel like seeds, but could very well be droppings. There were many more bits of Web and such before I thinned out my once giant plant.

I sprayed some insecticide on the webbing again today, so maybe that will help.

Thank you for the responses!!

I finally got to the little buggar and got a picture! Definitely not an earwig, but I'm not sure what it is. My plant is just looking worse and worse. My phone wouldn't focus the way I wanted, but I did my best.

Possibly a hellgammite, Dobson fly larva

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/20...

Moonhowl said:Possibly a hellgammite, Dobson fly larva

They do look very similar, except my guy is very small. I very much appreciate you talking the time to look, though!

Still looks like it may be an immature earwig ?
What ever it is many insects can be controlled with diatomaceous earth , might give it a try .Cant hurt the plant

That's what I'm thinking, Cinda. An immature earwig. I also agree with diatomaceous earth. It works very well with most bugs. Dust it on the base of the plant and soil. When you water, reapply.

Thanks for the help, guys! I will buy some diatomaceous earth as soon as payday hits. I got even more confused this evening as I got home and started watering my plants. I got frustrated with my spider plant and started digging up the soil and found SO MANY of those little bugs and also dozens of small matte black beetles that I think are death feigning beetles. Odd. I also found a gigantic caterpillar which definitely helped the situation.... Haha. I checked the roots and they are healthy and intact so I just took off the (very few) leaves and will try again when it starts growing back.

Well then, it sounds like it was a good move to just get rid of all of that soil. If the gigantic caterpillar was in the soil, it could have been some kind of grub; or if something was eating the leaves of your plant-an armyworm. I think your plant will come back just fine.

Armyworm ~

It was in fact an armyworm! I tossed it away into the bushes, as I'm on the second floor and my plants on the balcony, and I found it back again on my squash!! What a jerk. Yeah, I'll have to replace all the soil... I found some teeny tiny bugs in there that I thought were sprint tails, but they are larger than that and had these little tufts on their back end. There are hundreds of them.... along with those death feigning beetles... it is obnoxious. Ah well. Thank you all so much for the help!!!

Anyone know what this might be? found them outside our door and now inside the house after a rain. slow moving.

looks antish but not like others I'm used to seeing. We live in Sebastopol, CA

Hmm it's hard to say from the position in photo. The face could be an ant face. Is it ant sized? It is common for ants to move after a rain since they often nest just below the ground surface and rain can wash them out. Moving inside the house is common too.

A closer look at your bug reminds me of a tiny wasp. Do your bugs have wings?

Anybody know what this guy is? The pic is zoomed in 4x. I find these bugs in the roots of my dead echinacea and rudbeckia in the spring. I'm not sure if they feed on the dead roots or they are the cause of the death of the plants. This year I found them in some live lily bulbs as well, they ate the roots and a few tunnelled into the bulbs.

It's a millipede. They usually eat decaying material but they do sometimes damage plants.

Eeee!!! I went out this morning and my iris have a ton of these black flying bugs...anyone know what they are? Good? Bad?




Here is a photo with a toothpick so you can tell the size