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Peace
Blue

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My mind is corrosive...

Check to see if your "bugs" move slowly and have 8 legs and a spiderlike body. They are real small and you will need a hand lens to count the legs. Color can vary. Mine were whitish/clear but there is a red variety called a pepper mite.

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My mind is corrosive...

The Lizard,

Later,
tweedy.

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My mind is corrosive...

[This message has been edited by HayabusaXT (edited December 26, 1999).]

Straw Mite:

Red Pepper Mite:

According to Stamets the presence of mites is "an indication of unsatisfactory substrate preparation and insufficient pasteurization times and/or temperatures".

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Peace, Love & Light

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[This message has been edited by Psychonaut (edited January 08, 2001).]

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Peace, Love & Light

[This message has been edited by Shroom Mage (edited December 26, 1999).]

Order: Arcana
Family: Tyrogelyphidae
Genus/Species: T .vrophagus putrescentiae,
Caloglyphus mycophagus
Common Names: Straw or Hay Mites Discussion: Straw mites have soft translucent pinkish or yellowish bodies punctuated by long flexible hairs. One female is capable of producing 500 eggs in a lifetime. Commonly found in hay or straw piles, these saprophytic mites are endemic to foul compost. They feed on molds and bacterial contaminants of the mushroom crop and also eat mycelium and mushrooms, making small irregular pits in the stem and cap. These pits can later become infected by bacteria.

Order: Arcana Family: Eupodidae Genus/Species: Linopodes antennaepes
Common Name: Long Legged Mushroom Mite. Discussion: This mite is easily recognized by its long front legs which are twice the length of the light, yellowish brown body. It is not believed to be directly injurious to the mushroom crop and in fact is a predator on other mite species.

Order: Arcana Family- Tarsonemidae Genus/Species: Tarsonemus myceliophagus Common Name: The Mushroom Loving Mite. Discussion:
Tarsonemus mites are very small, 180-190 microns long, with pale brown, shin- ing, oval bodies. They occasionally swarm in masses on mushroom caps but otherwise are rarely seen except by microscopic examination. Females produce an average of 22 eggs in a lifetime of 2-8 weeks. These mites cause a bright reddish-brown discoloration at the base of the mushroom stem and may cut the stem's mycelial connections. Known to survive normal compost pasteurization temperatures, they can carry a virus disease to Agaricus brunnescens.

Order: Arcana Family: Pyemotidae Genus/Species: Pygmephorus sp.
Common Names: Red Pepper Mites; Pygmy Mites. Discussion: Pepper mites are small
(250 microns long) with yellowish brown, wedge-shaped bodies, crossed by a central
whitish band. Red pepper mites are often seen as a swarming jostling mass, on mushroom
caps or the surface of the casing. These mites are commonly associated with Penicillium and Trichoderma molds, upon which they feed.

[This message has been edited by Shroom Mage (edited December 26, 1999).]

Monsanto make one under the brand name 'Polysect' - it contains bifenthrin. You should find it in any good garden store. This will kill the little beasts, but, best of all, if used sparingly it will not harm your crop in any way, nor will you have to take any special care over picking them after they have been sprayed!

Bottle gives full instructions. Hope you nail the little ****ers.

They have wings, but I've never seen them fly.

There aren't very many of them, I've never seen maggots or females.

They just walk around on the top layer of soil really fast, they're hard to kill.

They don't seem to be affecting anything, they're just sitting around.

And they're too small to be flies.

These are strangs bugs, nothing dangerous, just a nusence(sp?).

If I had a digital camera, I'd take a picture, but I don't. Mayber I'll get one from the money I got from Chritmas.

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My mind is corrosive...

The Lizard,