ID bugs/insects on phals

[Yen]

Hi everybody

I have two kinds of insects/bugs seem to creep on my phals. I don't mind creepy crawlers... I just want to make sure they are not damaging to my plants.

1. There are these small long black long bugs(about 0.1mm x1mm. To the naked eye they look like the substance you get after you use a pencil eraser- black/ small/elongated. But using a magnifying glass they just look like a microscopic version of a centipede. They don't seem to cause major harm so far. They creep around... tend to come out more when I water my plants. I use bark medium. They will crawl into the medium, on aerial roots, petals, leaves and even my desk counter (if there is a surface... they will crawl). When I use a wet cloth to wipe them, they leave a trace of black streaks.
2. The second bugs... oy.. I hope they are not spider mites. They look like small circular dust particles to the naked eye(0.5mm) .. but under magnifying glass they kind of look like mites. No webs so far. Again, they crawl everywhere- on leaves/medium/roots/medium/on the times of the pots/desk... any surface area..... I tried to use a wet cloth to wipe them as well... but it appears there bodies dont get crushed or leave any marks.

Attached are photos taken using my phone... sorry for the poor quality.
Please let me know...
Thank you!

[MiniMoth]

The 1st one sounds like thrips.. 2nd might be red spider mite? Google images to check if the macro pics match what you see.

Both are something of a nightmare (if my ID is correct)..

[aliceinwl]

The first looks to be some type of springtail: completely harmless. The second looks to be some type of mite. Mites are a very diverse group. It doesn’t really look like a spider mite to me but without a higher resolution photo, I can’t be sure. If you just see the one mite and no damage, I’d monitor the situation before deciding whether or not treatment is in order.

[MiniMoth]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

The first looks to be some type of springtail: completely harmless.

Aren't they supposed to hang out in the media and around the roots? Mine are never feeling adventurous enough to go climbing all over (even when soaking pots)..

OP mentioned seeing them on petals, so that makes me think thrips.. The size/shape is right for both though.

[aliceinwl]

The proportions and shape look off for a thrip to me, but it’s very difficult to tell at this resolution. Under moist conditions, springtails get around. Even if it is a thrip, there are a lot of harmless species of these too.