Insect and Spider Identification: CLOSED: Mystery Critters on Daylily Leaves?, 1 by DaylilyDiva219

DaylilyDiva219 wrote:
Hi Y'all,

As I was outside doing some much-needed maintenance on my daylilies and other plants yesterday, I noticed a number of the daylilies had whitish "stuff" on them. At first it looked like pollen of some sort, but upon closer inspection, I really think it might be some sort of insect in a larval stage. They don't appear to be moving at ALL, even when hit with insecticidal soap, but it still concerns me. Could these be thrips? I'm not familiar with them (yet!), but have heard they can affect daylilies. FWIW, the iris in the vicinity were not affected.

After a close inspection with the magnifying glass, these critters are still very tiny, probably smaller than the letter "i" as you see it on this page, whitish, and I can see legs, maybe 6 (3 on each side) up near the "head" - but still absolutely no movement.

Here's a shot that shows the appearance of the infestation on the leaves.

So now I'm guessing they might be thrip larvae? Others have suggested aphid larvae. Any ideas, and if so, what can (or should) I do about them?

Thanks very much in advance for any info!

Barb