I have several cyclamen species (mostly hardy coum or hederfolium) that I have growing indoors under lights that have an insect on and around them tha...
Knowledgebase
Plant pest ID request #923273
Asked January 02, 2026, 10:17 PM EST
I have several cyclamen species (mostly hardy coum or hederfolium) that I have growing indoors under lights that have an insect on and around them that I would like to to identify, or determine if it is a pest that I need to deal with or a non-harmful one.
They are small (aprx. 0.2mm), visible to the naked eye, slender (4x longer than wide), the are present on plant leaves but also on outside of pots and trays. The plants were in pots growing outside over summer and brought indoors for growing inside during winter under lights. The insect seem to walk along the rims of the pots. They walk fast-ish (1in/dozen seconds). They are mostly whitish in color with black in center of abdomen. I believe they have 6 legs and 2 antennas. They are not congregated on any part of the plants and seem to walk constantly and freely around. I currently think they may be springtails, but am not sure.
Any help is appreciated. I have attached a few of the better close up pictures I managed to get of them. Some pictures are of one I grabbed with a fine tip tweezer.
Kent CountyMichigan
Expert Response
Photos 2 and 3 are mites. Some species are predatory (not-harmful to plants), while others are pests. It's not possible to determine which group this belongs to from that single photo. If the leaves start to turn speckled or yellow, this would indicate it's a species of mite that can cause damage. Insecticidal soap would be a good candidate for chemical control, should it be needed.
The angle from photo 1 does not make it possible to identify the insect, since the abdomen isn't clear. If you believe these are all the same species, there's a strong probability it's also the same type of mite.