Is something attacking my babies?

[snatchbox]

Hi,

 

I think I may have a problem, but I'm not too sure. But I would like to get in early before anything major takes hold. These are my babies. They are about 7 weeks young. I've been searching Google & other forums for the past 3 & half hours. I'm still stumped to what may be causing these problems.

Can any of you kind folks please provide me with an answer, & maybe a solution? I would be very muchly appreciate it. If you need any more photos, please ask & you shall receive. I'll be checking back regularly. Thanks.

 

1st Plant:

There are currently only two of the dead spots, & one of the little black mark shown in the second picture.

2nd Plant:

Only a few leafs have this problem. First plant also has one or two leaves with this problem.

 

EDIT: What could be causing these leaves to curl upwards? Is this from too much heat?

Edited November 17, 2012 by snatchbox

[billygoat]

Could be mites.... I found this thread useful in regard to treatment for most things,...

 

https://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/topic/48764-whit-fly/page__hl__+aphids#entry344862

[snatchbox]

Thank you for the link & speedy response, billygoat! After spending some time on Google, the best answer I could come up with was mites. That potion will be on this weeks shopping list! Edited November 17, 2012 by snatchbox

[brick]

Looks more like leaf minor to me.

They don't cause too much of a problem. Just squash the leaf between your pinky and thumb.

 

To check for mites, turn the worst leaf upside down, if you have mites you will see tiny little white spots covering most of the underside of the leaves. They will be mite eggs. I have used Neem oil on them with reasonable success. You gotta drench the underside of the leaves as that is where they go. A good blast with very cold water will dislodge them as well.

 

Wikipedia is the best place to research mites. Just type in spider mites and you will get more than enough info on the little fuckers.

[Frank Reynolds]

Looks more like leaf minor to me.

They don't cause too much of a problem. Just squash the leaf between your pinky and thumb.

 

To check for mites, turn the worst leaf upside down, if you have mites you will see tiny little white spots covering most of the underside of the leaves. They will be mite eggs. I have used Neem oil on them with reasonable success. You gotta drench the underside of the leaves as that is where they go. A good blast with very cold water will dislodge them as well.

 

Wikipedia is the best place to research mites. Just type in spider mites and you will get more than enough info on the little fuckers.

 

Defiantly leaf miners, my greenhouse has got em only affecting my choof plant and eggplant seedlings

[snatchbox]

Looks more like leaf minor to me.

They don't cause too much of a problem. Just squash the leaf between your pinky and thumb.

 

To check for mites, turn the worst leaf upside down, if you have mites you will see tiny little white spots covering most of the underside of the leaves. They will be mite eggs. I have used Neem oil on them with reasonable success. You gotta drench the underside of the leaves as that is where they go. A good blast with very cold water will dislodge them as well.

 

Wikipedia is the best place to research mites. Just type in spider mites and you will get more than enough info on the little fuckers.

Thanks! So it can't be mites then. I have checked the underside of many leaves & found no signs of "white spots". I did give them a light spray with a light soapy water solution, so hopefully that will do some good. So are these leaf minors causing both issues shown in the pictures? The dead spot & the little black dot? When you say squish the leaf, do mean that these critters are laying something into my babies? Like eggs?

 

Thanks again!

[brick]

Definition: A leaf miner is a species, the larva of which lives and feeds for a part of all of its time between the epidermal layers of a leaf.

 

Ok no mites then.

 

If the black spot is only on one leaf I would not worry too much. Just keep an eye on it to see if it gets worse. Could be anything, bug or nutes. Just wait and see.

 

.Ecology

The eggs of leaf mining insects are laid on the leaf surface, whereupon the larvae must cut into the leaf, or the adult female cuts holes in the leaf and deposits eggs. The larvae may spend their entire existence in the leaf or feed for only a few instars there. Some mine the first few instars and then feed externally when larger. The head is often wedge shaped to separate the epidermal layers, legs are small and reduced as well as the antennae and eyes. Many are sap-feeding and merely damage the tissues to then feed on the wound reactions. The food consists of palisade cells, the parenchyma, and the oozing sap. Veins sometimes impede the miners so that they must dwell in a confined area. If latex cells are cut in some plants, the secretions may drown or kill the larvae. Some larvae are adept at avoiding such latex cells. Resinous cells have toxic chemicals that deter non-host insects but have little affect on adapted leaf miners. Each species makes a characteristic mine and can be identified by the plant species and the "signature" of the mine and its location in the leaf. For example, leaf miners attack poison ivy and other poisonous plants. The removal of frass (feeding particles and fecal pellets) is a problem for leaf miners. The frass may be laid down or packed in the mine, it may be pushed from the mine by "mine shafts" or holes or the leaf miner leaves for a new leaf due to lack of room.

The majority of leaf mines are made during the middle or end of summer. Usually if the attack is early in the spring then this leads to a gall. This is because when meristematic tissue is attacked, the cells proliferate (hyperplasia) or enlarge (hypertrophy) and form galls. Leaf mines occur usually in mature leaves. When they need to pupate, they either do this in the mine or some distance away probably to escape predation. Many also use frass and spine cocoons to protect themselves from predation.

Leaf mining can have economic importance when succulent leaves, such as parsley and delphinium, wilt as a result of the mining. The leaves of woody plants usually remain turgid and functional in spite of the damage. The leaves of vegetables, fruit, or ornamental plants are often damaged the most severely by mining. Spinach and beet are mined by Pegomyia hyoscyami. In the past, chemical sprays have been rather ineffective against leaf miners due to their protection within the plant.

[snatchbox]

Thank you, brick! A quick question. Do these little critters look like very small Grasshoppers? If so, then I'm pretty certain that is what's attacking. I've seen them when I check my babies in the early hours of the morning, & at night.

 

Is there a home remedy I can use to rid these buggers?

 

Thanks guys, you've all been a big help!

[brick]

http://www.chemical-ecology.net/insects/leafmine.htm

 

I have never seen them, only where they have been.

 

Check out the above web page, heaps of info and pics.

 

As far as I read no sprays to kill them. They don't hurt the plant at all.

[Frank Reynolds]

they look like little white flies tiny as, i brush my plant they fly everywhere, i got em bad