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Post by beebee on Jan 26, 2016 15:55:35 GMT
Hello all,
Thanks for the link from the hacked WAB site. I suppose someone got a great deal of pleasure from the havoc caused...
We have a weeping fig tree in our lounge which we have nurtured since 1980. It requires attention annually to keep it healthy, and now stands about 4m tall! During the past decade we have struggled to control infestations of scale insect which leave a sticky residue on the leaves and can seriously damage it's health. It takes a great deal of patience to manually remove the scales and damage leaves and also pruning to maintain the shape (and size) of the tree.
While doing this annual maintenance I felt something soft under a leaf I was cleaning, and discovered an insect that I don't recognise. See attached photo:
Unfortunately I may have damaged the insect when I grasped the leaf; it appears to have 2 legs missing and 1 antenna is detached, which can be seen on the leaf.
Can anyone identify what this insect is please.
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Post by rowanberry on Jan 26, 2016 16:37:49 GMT
Hello Beebee, and welcome to Wabi! I'm no expert on insect identification but the pincers on its abdomen make me think it's some kind of earwig...could be one that's just molted, so it hasn't darkened yet. The head on yours doesn't look like an earwig, though- and it's legs are awfully long, too. www.unexco.com/earwig.jpgHopefully someone will come along who can definitely identify it for you. I had a fig tree and a banana tree several years ago, and one thing I learned is that those sort of plants don't like the dry heat that often occurs during the winter here, that comes from heaters and radiators. If indoor plants are misted frequently, they seem to do better. My banana tree was always prone to bugs when it had to come inside during the winter, and I used to add one or two drops of Ecover washing-up liquid to the spray bottle when I misted it. I recently got a plastic radiator humidifier to put on the rad near where my indoor plants are, and they seem to be doing better this year.... although there are nicer ones out there than just plastic! p-fst2.pixstatic.com/51bcf4dcd9127e2641001365._w.540_s.fit_.JPEG |
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Post by dogghound on Jan 27, 2016 7:18:34 GMT
Looks like a deceased bush cricket nymph.
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Post by beebee on Jan 27, 2016 16:23:31 GMT
Thanks for your replies.
The abdominal pincers are reminiscent of the earwig family, but I'm not convinced this specimen belongs to them.
It's unfortunate that the back legs are missing, but even so I think the antenna are probably too short to belong to a bush cricket nymph?
Hope to hear of any other suggestions.
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