HELP! Black Insects on my Trident Maple

[cjbonsai]

Oh yay, I thought this might be the same little pest. They are so very small it’s hard to capture them in a photo. As I understand they are actually beneficial as they eat decaying material and harmless to plants even though a little freaky when you find them. Curious as to why they are climbing your tree unless it is related to the recent pruning. I would think inorganic soil would be a deterrent for these guys, possibly there is a bit of moss they collect in/under in your pot. Amazing tree you have! I usually just repotted or re mounted my orchids and they were gone, you can flush them away with water. Miticides would probably work though I’ve never used them, just flushed them away with water..outside.

For another bizarre little jewel to find inhabiting your plants, harmless as well, do a search for Pseudoscorpion! I had one in a terrarium for most of a year. Now that little one really freaked me out!

Good luck with the repot

Thanks again so Much I was truly panicking

 

[PattyB]

I’m happy to have helped identify the little pest and hope they’ve not caused any damage. The orchids I’ve grown have all been micro miniatures and I’ve never had any damage from these soil mites, just know it’s time to replace their moss or mounts. They don’t seem to enjoy being spritzed with water!

With a tree as amazing as yours I can imagine the panic with a new insect invasion, hope it has not suffered in any way. It truly is beautiful.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

I use Bayer Feed & Protect on ALL the trees.
Started last year and had NOT ONE aphid or scale!
That's a first. Also a fertilizer.

Bad for bees but good for trees.

 

[Dav4]

I use Bayer Feed & Protect on ALL the trees.
Started last year and had NOT ONE aphid or scale!
That's a first. Also a fertilizer.

Bad for bees but good for trees.

It's only bad for bees if you're treating flowering species that will be in flower when bees are active. Pretty easy to avoid using it on those particular species...