# Help identify These Insects Please



## brent.a.sanders (12 mo ago)

My terrarium is being over run by these things. All I know for sure is they ARE NOT isopods and they ARE NOT temperate white springtails. They jump like springtails. But they are more silvery and reflective than the whites I have. I thought they had wings at first because of the silvery sheen they have, looked almost like the silvery sheen some fly wings have under light but I've never seen them fly, they just crawn and jump. I have tried introducing temperate white springtails to this viv on more than one occasion and these things are either eating them or out competing them for resources. My best guess would be either mites or some other variety of springtails I didnt know I had. Video Here!


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## brent.a.sanders (12 mo ago)

Edit: They are also smaller than my white springtails. The ones I'm assuming are adults are only about half the size of my adult white springtails


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

brent.a.sanders said:


> My terrarium is being over run by these things. All I know for sure is they ARE NOT isopods and they ARE NOT temperate white springtails. They jump like springtails. But they are more silvery and reflective than the whites I have. I thought they had wings at first because of the silvery sheen they have, looked almost like the silvery sheen some fly wings have under light but I've never seen them fly, they just crawn and jump. I have tried introducing temperate white springtails to this viv on more than one occasion and these things are either eating them or out competing them for resources. My best guess would be either mites or some other variety of springtails I didnt know I had. Video Here!
> View attachment 304427


just some smaller springtail type or young springtails, either way they are springtails


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

I just realized they could be Thrips, if they are Thrips then it would make sense as they have wings. I would try and get a better photo and compare them to photos of Thrips, if they are Thrips then action would need to be taken as Thrips are plant pests


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## brent.a.sanders (12 mo ago)

IShouldGetSomeSleep said:


> I just realized they could be Thrips, if they are Thrips then it would make sense as they have wings. I would try and get a better photo and compare them to photos of Thrips, if they are Thrips then action would need to be taken as Thrips are plant pests


Would thrips be climbing on my plants if they are plant pests? I've never noticed them climbing on my plants. They swarm around pangea crested gecko diet if I leave in somewhere they can access and they also swarm over dead plant material like leaves that have fallen from my coleus. I have been trying to introduce temperate white springtails but they keep vanishing so I was assuming these things are eating them but they may just be reproducing faster than the whites and out competing them. I almost want to say they are like a brownish color but reflect silvery white under my lights. They don't seem to be harassing the living parts of my plants... unless they are attacking the roots which I can't really see. My coleus, nerve plant, and creeping fig seem fine. I added some more pictures but I really need to buy something for macro photos... my phones camera doesn't cut it (not part of the iphone fam) and my canon can't get a good shot with my kit lens because of how tiny these things are.


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

brent.a.sanders said:


> Would thrips be climbing on my plants if they are plant pests? I've never noticed them climbing on my plants. They swarm around pangea crested gecko diet if I leave in somewhere they can access and they also swarm over dead plant material like leaves that have fallen from my coleus. I have been trying to introduce temperate white springtails but they keep vanishing so I was assuming these things are eating them but they may just be reproducing faster than the whites and out competing them. I almost want to say they are like a brownish color but reflect silvery white under my lights. They don't seem to be harassing the living parts of my plants... unless they are attacking the roots which I can't really see. My coleus, nerve plant, and creeping fig seem fine. I added some more pictures but I really need to buy something for macro photos... my phones camera doesn't cut it (not part of the iphone fam) and my canon can't get a good shot with my kit lens because of how tiny these things are.


Well then that sounds like springtails, then could you be confusing winged insects for gnats? The insect in the photo is a springtail I can tell that much.


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## Harpspiel (Jan 18, 2015)

IShouldGetSomeSleep said:


> Well then that sounds like springtails, then could you be confusing winged insects for gnats? The insect in the photo is a springtail I can tell that much.


I believe OP was saying the bugs looked like they had wings due to having a silvery sheen. I have a bug in some of my pots that has a pretty silver iridescence, and at first I thought they had wings too, but I have concluded they are flightless and probably springtails in the genus Lepidocyrtus. I don’t think the bugs in the picture are thrips.


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## brent.a.sanders (12 mo ago)

Thanks  I'm gonna assume its some kind of springtail based on your responses


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

They look like the springtails that have come to inhabit my rainbow boa enclosures. Whatever they are, they're certainly harmless detrivores and good dart frog food.


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