Small Arthropods (Root Aphids?) Crawling on a Piece of Wood with Restrepia Sanguinea and White Mold

Hello all,

Out of all the orchids I received over the holidays, Restrepia sanguinea is certainly the hardest to care for. Everything seemed to be going well—plenty of new roots and bright green leaves—but the moss around the plant gradually began to die. A few weeks later, white mold had spread wherever live moss once grew, and I wiped it away. Even though there isn't any now, I'm fairly sure I haven't gotten rid of it entirely. It doesn't seem particularly harmful, but it's not very attractive to look and certainly isn't encouraging.

Around the same time as the mold appeared, I noticed small arthropods (root aphids?) hiding in the moss and scurrying across the piece of the wood the Restrepia is mounted on. They vary a great deal in size, but are all quite small. I included a few photographs in this thread to aid with identification...

I recently installed a small fan in the enclosure where the Restrepia sanguinea grows to ensure better air movement, and to hopefully prevent the mold from reappearing. As for the little creatures, it doesn't look like they're spreading, but it's not like they could get too far (being isolated in a small enclosure).

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Could these actually be springtails?

 

Thank you, both of you. I'm very glad to hear that the springtails aren't harmful, and I'm interested to know more about their eating habits. Might they have been feeding on the mold and dying moss?

As for the white mold, is there any chance that the diluted hydrogen peroxide could harm the Restrepia? The roots have covered a lot of ground since I bought it, and there's no avoiding getting some of the solution on the plant if I am to deal with the mold.

Thanks for the identification and the advice.

 

It's been a long time, and I'm sorry I didn't get back to either of you earlier.

I used the 3% hydrogen peroxide as instructed, and it seems to have worked. I'm afraid that the springtail population has been reduced by the treatment, but I still see one or two occasionally, which leads me to believe that they might just make it. The Restrepia didn't react adversely to the hydrogen peroxide, but the development of a new leaf did slow down. Whether or not this is due to the treatment remains to be seen, but the bottom line is that the solution worked and the orchid is (as far as I can tell) unharmed.

As for air circulation, I think I mentioned earlier how I have a small (but powerful) fan in the enclosure which I was hoping would ensure air movement. Turning it on a few times each day isn't enough, is it? The plastic greenhouse I have is designed for growing highland Nepenthes and other carnivores with more-or-less similar growing requirements, so the humidity there is too low. That is why the Restrepia is in such a small enclosure, because its needs are so different from the majority of plants I have. As the fan decreases humidity in the orchidarium, I try to keep it on as little as possible. Might making it turn on 2-3 times each day do the trick?

Thanks again.

 

Ted,

I found your suggestion recently and I think it sounds like a very good idea. Today I'm going to replicate the setup you mentioned with a shallow bowl of distilled water, and I hope it'll help me maintain sufficient humidity levels over the winter months while allowing me to keep the fan on for longer periods of time. Would it be more effective if I broke up the surface tension using clay pebbles?

Thanks!