Hi all!

Just posted this under the "purslane" forum too, as I wasn't sure where it was most relevant (the pests seem to especially like the purslane)- so please forgive the duplicates if you're seeing this again!! I'm trying to identify the pests on my succulents.

Think I'm dealing with a few different kinds of pests on my purslane plants, and I was hoping maybe folks on here would be able to help me identify what they are so as to get rid of them! Some bugs are little black dots, others are little white bugs, and there seems to be spiderwebbby-type things on them too. I thought maybe the white bugs combined with that spiderwebby like characteristic could be mealy bug? Yik:) Anyway, here's some photos. Fingers crossed. Let me know what you guys think!

Thanks so much,

Gabrielle

PS- some have spread to my other succulents, too, and I live in Southern California- not sure if that's helpful info!

to NGA

They look like aphid exoskeletons to me. Have you seen aphids in your garden?

Aphids and mealy bugs, maybe. The three bugs at the center of the stem in the third picture look like mealies. Have you seen ant traffic nearby? I would take a squirt bottle of soapy water (you can buy insecticidal soap or make your own) and blast them out of there. You might need to come back for a second or third round to clean up what's left, but soapy water is pretty bad for the bugs and does not harm the plant at all. The reason I ask about the ants is that often ants will ferry the sucking bugs up onto your plants, so if the ant traffic remains, the bugs will return.