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LordV
25th of January 2006 (Wed), 10:30
Whilst taking some orchid shots today- noticed they had the dreaded mealy-bugs. Heres a pic of one gently teased out of its woolly house. Think this is the head end :)- bug about 3mm long. Not sure if the rugby balls are eggs or droppings.
Brian V.

http://static.flickr.com/16/90984678_95c87d8400.jpg
nitsch
25th of January 2006 (Wed), 12:31
Great shot Brian! Bit grim, but interesting nevertheless. :D
LordV
25th of January 2006 (Wed), 15:20
Great shot Brian! Bit grim, but interesting nevertheless. :D
Thanks Nick- must admit it's not very photogenic, but it was a bit like going back to my macro birth, first shot I took was of one of these :)
Brian V.
Omri Alon
25th of January 2006 (Wed), 15:22
Whatever it is- it is beautiful (in it's own way :D )
Alan B
25th of January 2006 (Wed), 15:27
Well thank you very much :confused: :( , i'm now sat here scratch'ing looking at your "super macro" shots.

Awesome shot :cool:
LordV
25th of January 2006 (Wed), 15:29
Whatever it is- it is beautiful (in it's own way :D )
I suspect only to another mealy-bug or a predator :)
Brian V.
LordV
25th of January 2006 (Wed), 15:30
Well thank you very much :confused: :( , i'm now sat here scratch'ing looking at your "super macro" shots.

Awesome shot :cool:
Thanks Alan- Don't worry, they only like plants :)
Brian V.
Alan B
25th of January 2006 (Wed), 15:36
Yeah but i did a search on these "mites" and saw pics of the bed mites :confused: .I'm itching even more now :confused: :lol:
LordV
25th of January 2006 (Wed), 16:21
Yeah but i did a search on these "mites" and saw pics of the bed mites :confused: .I'm itching even more now :confused: :lol:
That'll teach you to use the internet- you can catch all sorts of nasty things from it :)
Brian V.
Bald Eagle
25th of January 2006 (Wed), 17:19
Great Capture, Very sharp, do you have the original Birth shot you took, by any Chance?:D :D :D
mebailey
25th of January 2006 (Wed), 21:52
Great shot of an infrequently photographed creature! Very sharp with good DOF on a super small subject.
LordV
26th of January 2006 (Thu), 01:15
Thanks BE and MIke,
Think you can see why they are not photographed very often- UGH.
Brian V.
photobitz
27th of January 2006 (Fri), 00:06
Whilst taking some orchid shots today- noticed they had the dreaded mealy-bugs. Heres a pic of one gently teased out of its woolly house. Think this is the head end :)- bug about 3mm long. Not sure if the rugby balls are eggs or droppings.
Brian V.

http://static.flickr.com/16/90984678_95c87d8400.jpg

So what happened to the mealy bug after it's photo shoot?

And, yes I'm pretty sure those are eggs by the way.
I hate those little bastards, they screw up my orchids too!
LordV
27th of January 2006 (Fri), 01:30
So what happened to the mealy bug after it's photo shoot?

And, yes I'm pretty sure those are eggs by the way.
I hate those little bastards, they screw up my orchids too!

I'd already removed it from the orchid and put it on the leaf of a Bromeliad nearby for the shot- have to admit I left it there (they don't seem to like Bromeliads). I'll need to another soapy water brush job on the orchids shortly- I'm actually not that bothered about them as long tas there are not too many of them- the main drawback is the sap drops they excrete and drop on the leaves, carpet etc.
Brian V.
photobitz
27th of January 2006 (Fri), 05:40
Then their secretions attract ants who run them like cattle and help them multiply 10 fold until your orchids look like they've been snowed on.

I also don't like them because they can introduce fungi and diseases to the plants. Not to mention they make their houses out of their own excrement.

I usually spray my plants with pyrethrin and a garlic/chilli combination I blended. It definitely keeps them at bay, but unfortunately washes off in the rain.:(

Anyway... a bit off subject. Nice shot.