Orchid newbie tip 1 - how to spot mealy bugs

 

Late one day in 2005, Myqhi took a few unplanned photos of several phalaenopsis. The lighting wasn't the best, and he didn't take the time to pose the plants. This was a come-as-you-are party for orchids. And why not? Orchids are gorgeous all day long. They don't have bad hair days — or do they?

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a beautiful phalaenopsis with a big problem Phal. Harford's Jewel 'Carney x Mandarin' HCC/AOS. This phalaenopsis, purchased from Breckenridge Orchids in 2004, had gorgeous reddish-brown blooms. The small flowers were almost as tall as they were wide, roughly 5 cm (2 in).
display bigger photo (~700 px wide; 92 KB).

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Orchid newbie tip 1 - how to spot mealy bugs (continued from top)

The orchid looked great in the photo (of course), but wait a minute, what's that piece of lint? On further inspection of the photograph, there were several pieces of lint on the flowers. It wasn't long before Myqhi was out inspecting this plant and then many others. What our eyes missed day after day, the macro lens of our digital camera found. We had a mealy bug infestation.

Newbie tip 1 has two parts:

  • Photograph your orchids just for the fun of it.
  • Pay attention to what you see in the photos! Your digital camera can actually be a useful tool to use against tiny invaders like mealy bugs. (A good bifocal prescription probably wouldn't hurt either.)

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