unknown bug

minnowman

minnowman
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
269
Reaction score
142
Location
Thibodaux,Louisiana
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
9a
Some bugs that I have never seen before are attacking the lilies in the deck pond greenhouses. They are bigger than aphids(up to about 3/16" long) and they are much more mobile( they can jump up to 2 feet). The small ones are almost white and they darken as they get bigger. They have oars similar to backswimmers. They spend all their time on lily pads apparently sucking juice, but when I wash them off they swim right back to the leaves. Please let me know if you can identify these bugs and how to treat them.
 

Attachments

  • 3-3-12 005.JPG
    3-3-12 005.JPG
    46.6 KB · Views: 321
  • 3-3-12 009.JPG
    3-3-12 009.JPG
    45.5 KB · Views: 301
  • 3-3-12 010.JPG
    3-3-12 010.JPG
    85.2 KB · Views: 267

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
they sure look like aphids though .I know most bugs you can pull the leaves out of the water and wipe them with dish detergent but you would have to be really careful to not get any in the pond .You could maybe try peroxide also as that won't harm the fish.you may have to pluck the more infected leaves off
 
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
3,214
Reaction score
1,296
Location
Phoenix AZ
I'd say aphid. There are just so many different kinds, thousands, I long ago stopped trying to find the species. Some to get that size, and bigger. Many body shapes and colors.

I'm generally not big on home remedies but years ago on a pond forum a person suggested Pam cooking spray. I thought it would leave an oil on the water or kill the lilly pad...but I was surprised how well it worked. Killed them what seemed to be on contact, but really they probably just couldn't move. I only had a few pads colonized and only did one treatment so I don't have a lot of experience with it...but in my case I never had aphids again. Sprayed pads kept doing fine, didn't even look like it was sprayed. I didn't see any oil on the water although I have to assume there was some. I almost hoped for them to come back so I could see if it always worked that well.
 

j.w

I Love my Goldies
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
32,912
Reaction score
20,237
Location
Arlington, Washington
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
USDA 8a
Country
United States
Whatever they are give that oil tx that Waterbug suggested. I bet it would work on most any bugs. Smothers them I think.
 

fishin4cars

True friends just call me Larkin
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
5,195
Reaction score
1,599
Location
Hammond LA USA
Hardiness Zone
8a
Gary, I don't know what they are either. far larger than true aphids. Or at least the ones I have dealt with in the past. They have been showing up on my lotus and snowflake more than the lilies but they look exactly the same. I have had them show up the last three years. Good news is they only do minimal damage and they leave after about three weeks to a month. I'd be interested in trying the cooking spray if it was in a self contained container to experment with. There are some showing up in the upper bog of the water fall now. I'm holding off doing anything right now. Should finally be beginning the pond dig this week as the tractor arrived this evening.
 
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
3,214
Reaction score
1,296
Location
Phoenix AZ
They vary in length from 1 to 10 millimetres (0.04 to 0.39 in).
Wikipedia

Lots are in the 4mm to 5mm range. fishin4cars, I like your definition of "true aphid" as being ones you've dealt with in the past. That does seem to be the common meaning of "true". I've certainly used it a few times.

My personal test for aphids is the finger test. If they disintegrate easily into a greasy substance when rubbed between the fingers I call them aphids. And they have the other normal traits like size, lots of different sizes and body shapes in the colony (because of all the life cycle differences that I don't see in other bugs) and explosive growth. Not very scientific. I really just want to tell the difference between hard shelled bugs and no shell.
 

minnowman

minnowman
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
269
Reaction score
142
Location
Thibodaux,Louisiana
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
9a
Thanks for the tip Waterbug. I tried Pam last night and there is not a bug to be found today. When the spray hit the pads, many of the bugs jumped into the water, but they soon got caught up in the oil film. After about an hour I sprayed the oil off the leaf surfaces with a garden hose. There is still some oil on the water today, but it is not a rainbow sheen. It's just floating around in small blobs. It should break down soon. I'll send an update in a week or so. As for whether or not they are hard shelled, I never caught any of the larger ones because they always jumped away. Larkin, these guys were protected inside a greenhouse and were starting to do some real damage.
 

j.w

I Love my Goldies
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
32,912
Reaction score
20,237
Location
Arlington, Washington
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
USDA 8a
Country
United States
Yahoo you won the war mman and now we all know what to use on those critters thanks to Waterbug!
 
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
3,214
Reaction score
1,296
Location
Phoenix AZ
Thanks to whoever told me about the Pam.

Paper towel works good for removing oil from the surface of water. Just lay on top and remove. The oil sticks to the paper. Might take a couple times.
 

minnowman

minnowman
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
269
Reaction score
142
Location
Thibodaux,Louisiana
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
9a
The oil disappeared after a couple of days with no obvious damage to the lilies. None of the larger bugs came back but some of the very tiny white bugs have reappeared in the last couple of days. I sprayed them with Pam again today. The weather has been very warm lately ( lows in the 60s and highs in the low 80s )so I rolled up the sides part way on the deck ponds. Hopefully that will allow predators to keep the aphid population down. The tree frog chorus has started again.
 

fishin4cars

True friends just call me Larkin
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
5,195
Reaction score
1,599
Location
Hammond LA USA
Hardiness Zone
8a
Glad to hear the Pam trick worked. That's something I will have to remember. Gary when you said they jumped that tells me it's not the same thing I have dealt with. waterbug is really talking more like the thing (bug) I deal with yearly. It's not hard and mushes when touched with much force at all. Oh and they aren't very fast either. I'm going to have to try the Pam as well as I saw a few this past weekend on the lotus leaves.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads

Unknown fungus 5
Unknown aquatic plants 2
unknown fish in pond 25
Unknown causality 5
Unknown fish in pond 11
For Sale Unknown Water Lilies 2
Unknown creatures in pond filter, please identify 5
Unknown, issues with fish 16

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
30,754
Messages
508,181
Members
13,003
Latest member
Tfny

Latest Threads

Top