On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 12:10:36 GMT, wrote
in Message-Id: :

The leaves on many of my orchids (mostly catt family, dendrobiums, some
phals and paphs) are sticky to the touch.

It doesn't really sound like your sticky leaves are caused by this,
but I've seen virtually clear scale insects on a stem above a leaf
deposit honey dew on the leaf below. I couldn't determine the source
of the sticky stuff until I used a 2X hand glass. Some scale are
nearly transparent!

Here's a link, but these are pretty observable:
http://nat_hist.sdstate.edu/orchids/pests/scales.htm

Here's a good site with insect photos to aid in identification:
http://www.extento.hawaii.edu/kbase/view/urbpics.htm

You'll find lots of cheap magnifiers he
http://tinylink.com/?urh4xzLnmz