# Bugs on Floating plants



## PlantNewbie (Dec 4, 2009)

Has anyone seen bugs on the floating plants?

I grow Limnobium laevigatum and Salvinia minima in one of my 10 gal tanks, and recently when I observe closely I see little bugs on them. The parts of the leaves on the limnobium Laevigatum were eaten. They are very tiny and appear to be brown.


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## Karebear (Oct 6, 2008)

Hi PlantNewbie

I see that this post is a little old however no one replied. I would make two guesses on the bugs, aphids or white flies. I have had the not wanted experience of seeing both of these on floating plants. I hope this will help you


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## Garon (Mar 22, 2005)

Yep, I get them every now and then. They are tiny little brown boogers that bounce up and down like fleas. I have no idea what they are but as long as they stay under my canopy, I don't worry about them. I assume one bad "hop" from between the floating plants and they become fish food.


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## Noto (Oct 26, 2009)

The little "hoppers" are springtails, which are harmless detritivores. If you have something damaging your plants, it is not the springtails. I have had mealybug and aphid attacks on my emersed plants, but not on floating plants.


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## bartoli (May 8, 2006)

PlantNewbie said:


> Has anyone seen bugs on the floating plants?
> 
> I grow Limnobium laevigatum and Salvinia minima in one of my 10 gal tanks, and recently when I observe closely I see little bugs on them. The parts of the leaves on the limnobium Laevigatum were eaten. They are very tiny and appear to be brown.


Do they look like the bugs at the bottom right hand corner in the following photo?










Following is a 100% crop of the above:










The bugs are bourletiellidae. See:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/85554/bgimage


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## Nymsley (Mar 24, 2009)

Bartoli, I love the colors in that pic.

Heres the best pic I could get of the mysterious hopper:


The insect is standing on a piece of _Hygrophila difformi_s, next to a _Salvina minima_ leaf. It looks a bit different. Is it related?


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## bartoli (May 8, 2006)

Nymsley said:


> Bartoli, I love the colors in that pic.
> 
> Heres the best pic I could get of the mysterious hopper:
> 
> ...


Hi Nymsley,

At first I thought I was looking at one insect in your photo and therefore could not recognize its shape. But after increasing the picture brightness and magnifying it by 300%, I realized that I was looking at two, not one.

The two were greeting each other. The one facing the camera was standing on water (they often walk on water). The body is yellowish. I even saw the two black eyes on its head. The other one (with its back to the camera) is black-ish and was on a leaf surface. They both are bourletiellidae.

Color variation is common among them. They often greet each other and a greeting could last some time 

Here is a magnified image of the 'greeting':


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