These are not root aphids.

[crimsonecho]

Hi paradise,

I had some spare time so took some photos. These are my pots and my hypoaspis miles.



These guys are a natural part of the soil life and actually pretty benefical. They will eat fungus gnat larvae and thrip larvae. For thrips its not very effective as i read. But against fungus gnats its a good predator.

I’m calling them predator but they are actually scavengers. If they can’t find prey, they will sustain themselves with decaying organic matter and stuff.

Well anyways, there are two questions i ask when i see some lifeform around the soil. How does my plants look? Are these creatures interested in the plant?

If they are not interested in the plants and if the plants are ok. They are ok also. They are probably there to breakdown organic matter which is a good thing. True organic soil.

Anyway, good guys hypoaspis miles!

 

[realpromedz]

ive had these anytime a fungus gnat problem gets outta hand they just show up and walk around the pots... someone told me i was wrong and they was dust mites? not sure but they both look close! my camera wont allow me to get a good close up tho! i never see any deficiencies when they appear..

 

[crimsonecho]

ive had these anytime a fungus gnat problem gets outta hand they just show up and walk around the pots... someone told me i was wrong and they was dust mites? not sure but they both look close! my camera wont allow me to get a good close up tho! i never see any deficiencies when they appear..

Nah these are definitely hypoaspis and yours were too. The correlation between fungus gnats appearing and them appearing is enough to prove they are there to eat those fuckers imo.

Actually more than likely they are always there but in scarce numbers so you don’t notice and when the food supply becomes abundant they reproduce too.

 

[Doniawon]

Root aphids are black. And they look like aphids

 

[crimsonecho]

Root aphids are black. And they look like aphids

I’m not sure what root aphids looks like. I know what they look like but never had them so can’t say much on them. Fingers crossed that i never do. But i’ve seen many posts around many platform that asks “are these aphids?” With the photos of hypoaspis miles. I’m guessing some people kill these guys thinking they got root aphids or some other subspecies of aphids. Thats very sad to me.

 

[Doniawon]

Beneficial buggers

 

[Highsince76]

I wonder if that is what I have in my two totes of cooking organic soil.
Couple months ago I mixed up about 40 gallons of organic soil and amendments.
Wet it a bit and left it cook with the lids on loosely sitting in the basement. A month or so later I checked it. When I moved it around some and I could see pinhead sized insects digging quickly back into the soil.
Freaked me out and got that shit out of the basement into the garage real quick like. Still in the totes in the garage.

 

[Bodyne]

hate bugs. Especially them pecker gnats, don't get em anymore, for some reason, might be the tent is like a small tornado with the airmvmt on inside, lol We always called em pecker gnats, buzzin round a hound dawgs pecker.

 

[crimsonecho]

I wonder if that is what I have in my two totes of cooking organic soil.
Couple months ago I mixed up about 40 gallons of organic soil and amendments.
Wet it a bit and left it cook with the lids on loosely sitting in the basement. A month or so later I checked it. When I moved it around some and I could see pinhead sized insects digging quickly back into the soil.
Freaked me out and got that shit out of the basement into the garage real quick like. Still in the totes in the garage.

They may not be hypoaspis per se but when there is abundant organic material that needs to be broken down, all these soil mites appear. Thats perfectly normal. Thats what they do, they’ll eat it and poop it up and we plant in it and smoke the poop. Thats how nature works i guess. Hahahha.

 

[crimsonecho]

hate bugs. Especially them pecker gnats, don't get em anymore, for some reason, might be the tent is like a small tornado with the airmvmt on inside, lol We always called em pecker gnats, buzzin round a hound dawgs pecker.

Well these guys are a natural predator of anything that spends some of its lifecycle in the soil. I have abysmal watering practices. I should be infested with gnats but i’m not. Couple here and there and thats good too, these guys and gals need food. Maybe you have them too. They are really tiny and very hard to see.

 

[Bodyne]

I understand, im just a bit anal, aka ocd bout it in my situation.

 

[crimsonecho]

I understand, im just a bit anal, aka ocd bout it in my situation.

Me too. Crazy ocd. I’m battling it with cannabis actually. That and alcoholism. Alcoholism defeated, ocd seriously regressed. Wishing you success on your ongoing battle.

 

[BerryNice]

Good to know I dont have much bug problems i stay inside and clean like ocd person

When i do have them i lightly scuff the top of soil with small torch a few time a day for few days

If these guys ever cross my path them will live because of this thread lol

 

[crimsonecho]

Good to know I dont have much bug problems i stay inside and clean like ocd person

When i do have them i lightly scuff the top of soil with small torch a few time a day for few days

If these guys ever cross my path them will live because of this thread lol

Differences made today = +1

Haha. I really love them, very useful. Glad to hear that you are not gonna kill them when you encounter them.