CLOSED: Mystery Critters on Daylily Leaves?

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

Those almost look like exoskeletons of some sort (or just dead bugs). Is there a tree or something planted above that plant that they could have fallen from?

I fear you may be right daylily d - it's hard to say from here, though... do an image search for thrips nymphs and you'll find plenty of pics to compare. I find them on my daylilies, but not in those numbers. Sorry, I don't have any control advice for you.

plantfreak, long time no see!

Yes, they're in a sunny spot, but under a very high canopy of tulip poplar trees, which are just now leafing out. (Not blooming yet)

The main parts of the daylily that seemed to be affected were the centers (newest sets of leaves), which made me wonder about larvae of some sort.

It's been pouring here today, so I can't go back out and do a check to see if anything moves, or try to take a better macro shot.

I hope you're right! ;-) That is a much better possibility than an insect infestation!

Barb

Thanks, claypa.

I've checked some web sites and the critters do bear a resemblance to the first larval stage of thrips. ;-( Someone else suggested aphids, so I need to investigate what their larvae look like too.

This is a time when I'd be very happy to be wrong! Maybe the jets of water I hit them with yesterday, and the heavy thunderstorms we've been having here today have helped to wash them away...

They look like molted exoskeletons of aphids. Your observation of them not moving would also fit with that. Thrips are so small you can't really see them without a magnifier.
-Colin

If you think you need a magnifier to see thrip then I've seen some that would scare the crap out of you! :) The tropicals that our nursery receives often come in with giantic thrip that are bigger than aphids and almost the size of a ladybug larvae. And they bite too! I'll have to get a picture with good perspective the next time I see them.
I thought they might be exoskeletons, but without a close-up it's tough to tell and I tend to trust claypa when it comes to bug ID.

OK, plantfreak78, those would be exceptionally large thrips. Most are about 1-2 mm long. But I'm not familiar with the thrips common in your areas. Judging from the picture, the white objects in question appear to be quite large.

Thanks so much to all who have tried to help solve my mystery. I'm leaning toward the aphid ID, ONLY because there was absolutely no movement seen either before or after the spraying with insecticidal soap. But I know thrips could still be a possibility, since I have learned that some of the distorted blooms and colors of years past were most likely thrips (evidently that is both the singular and plural form, according to Wikipedia) damage.

The rains seem to have stopped today, so if I can find any more examples, I'll try to get a REALLY close macro shot that might give you all a better look.

Thanks again! Barb