Help needed- white stippling on leaves of new orchid?
 

Hello everyone,

I was hoping to get some help with this, because I've been reading about different pests and diseases all day and I'm no closer to a conclusion.

The other day I was unexpectedly gifted a Masdevallia and I've been doing research on their care, as I've never had one before. The plant seems overall quite healthy to me, with new growth producing little roots at the base, and clean new leaves.

However, I notice that on a lot of older, mature leaves there is some white or translucent stippling, or spots. I've read about chlorotic stippling mentioned in correlation with mites, but I was hoping someone with a more experienced eye could give me some feedback on what it might be?

I think this is my fifth post on the forums, so I'll try to attach a few images of what I'm talking about.

There are also some bigger spots on two of the leaves, one which looks quite old and has dry black edges, but the other one looks fresh and as though part of the leaf became translucent? The pictures show all three of these symptoms. This seems like a separate problem from the stippling so I'd also like some advice on that.

I don't know what this could be, and with it being a new plant I have been keeping it separate from my other orchids. I just don't know if I should I be worried or intervene, so please help! I want to take good care of this one.

The leaf on the right, and possibly the other with the black area, looks like it has been sunburned.

I have seen that white stippling before, and never fully ID'd it, but it doesn't spread, so I speculate it was insect damage. Not likely mites, as they take hold on the undersides of leaves first.

To me, it looks like a scale infestation. I believe careful cleaning with isopropyl alcohol is good to kill the scale, but read up on it first. Look up scale, and look up the AOS suggestions on how to get rid of it.

Thank you both for your replies! I'll read up on scale and maybe do a bit of cleaning on the plant with isopropyl as a preventive measure.

Just to clarify, the images don't show it too well, but the white stippling is not sticking out of the leaf, but rather is within the leaf tissue itself. Just in case that helps with any diagnosis.

Use a good hand magnifier to look closely at the spots, that should help determine if they are scale or other insects.

If you suspect scale or other insects, try the alcohol, but if they keep coming back, find a systemic insecticide that is suitable for orchids (or they will infest other plants and it will be very difficult to get rid of them). Ask some of the Canadian growers on this site for available systemics in your country.