Does anyone know what the little blackish/dark greyish insects are that
sometimes live in soil (usually around sickly plants)? They jump about a
bit if disturbed (they're not fleas). I've always thought they were
springtails but I now realise these are white. Do the little jumpy things
cause damage? If they do, how do I get rid of them and prevent them from
arriving in the first place?

TIA
--Alison

Does anyone know what the little blackish/dark greyish insects are that
sometimes live in soil (usually around sickly plants)? They jump about a
bit if disturbed (they're not fleas). I've always thought they were
springtails but I now realise these are white. Do the little jumpy things
cause damage? If they do, how do I get rid of them and prevent them from
arriving in the first place?

TIA
--Alison

They're probably a fly. I added a load of compost activator to a large
container of garden waste and on opening it some time later found it to be full
of white flies which jumped (or maybe flew) around. I have a feeling that the
compost activator may have had large numbers of dormant fly eggs in it. When
these get damp the larvae/maggots start to chomp through the garden waste
speeding decomposition. Then again, the flies may have just been introduced
naturally along with the garden waste before it was all sealed up in the
container.

I'm not sure as this will help, but it might give you another avenue to look
down.

As for getting rid of them, I'm not sure you really need to. They probably
just help break down matter that's already dead. If for some reason they're a
problem/nuisance, try a general purpose insecticide. Someone on here may be
able to suggest something non-chemical that is more environmentally friendly
though. I'd suggest you consider just leaving them well alone though. They
won't last for too much longer if the weather changes.

All the best,

Dave.

Alison wrote:
Does anyone know what the little blackish/dark greyish insects are
that sometimes live in soil (usually around sickly plants)? They
jump about a bit if disturbed (they're not fleas). I've always
thought they were springtails but I now realise these are white. Do
the little jumpy things cause damage? If they do, how do I get rid
of
them and prevent them from arriving in the first place?


I think there is a theory that (in general) it is the slow creepy
crawlies that do the plant damage and the fast creepy crawlies that
are the predators on the slow creepy crawlies

..... "They jump about a bit if disturbed."
I suppose they might be nervous slow creepy crawlies. ;-)

They could be adult froghoppers whose larvae produce that familiar
frothy 'cuckoo spit' to protect themselves while they suck the plant
sap. Do a Google Images search on froghoppers and see if they look
similar.

--
ned

snip
.... "They jump about a bit if disturbed."
I suppose they might be nervous slow creepy crawlies. ;-)

They could be adult froghoppers whose larvae produce that familiar
frothy 'cuckoo spit' to protect themselves while they suck the plant
sap. Do a Google Images search on froghoppers and see if they look
similar.
How about baby spiders?

Flea beetle?

Particularly around brassicas. The make small holes in the leaves.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 11:14:05 +0100, Alison wrote:

Does anyone know what the little blackish/dark greyish insects are that
sometimes live in soil (usually around sickly plants)? They jump about a
bit if disturbed (they're not fleas). I've always thought they were
springtails but I now realise these are white.


If you thik they are springtails, and look like them but the only
difference is the colour, then they almost certainly are. Springtails come
in various colours, but mostly either pale (those living underground) or
dark greyish (those living near or on the surfac). Some can be very small
and some quite a bit larger, but generally around flea-size. They never,
ever have wings, of course.

If you look on a stagnant rock-pool on the beach, you'll often find whole
rafts of grey springtails floating on the water.

There are some basics here :
http://web.missouri.edu/~bioscish/coll.html

and he http://www.ams.rdg.ac.uk/zoology/hopkin/
(especially the photo at the bottom of the page)

--
Tim.

If the human brain were simple enough that we could understand it, we would
be so simple that we couldn't.

In article m,
Tim Challenger wrote:

If you thik they are springtails, and look like them but the only
difference is the colour, then they almost certainly are. Springtails come
in various colours, but mostly either pale (those living underground) or
dark greyish (those living near or on the surfac). Some can be very small
and some quite a bit larger, but generally around flea-size. They never,
ever have wings, of course.

Rather like humans, in fact - except in size :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.