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Posted 1M ago by @Stall54Jo

Have you ever seen this before?

I found this on the very top of my tallest stalk, 8ft, and almost touching my ceiling. This tree is at least 10 yrs old. Has never had any pest. I examined this very close and have not identified any pests that I am familiar with. It was repotted little over a year ago. I water with distilled water 5 1/2 cups when dry 6 inches down. Could these be blisters from water escaping through the leaves and bursting? I did remove all affected leaves. #happyplants #plantsmakepeoplehappy #ficusgang #ficuselastica #rubberplant #pestcontrol
1ft to light, indirect
18โ€ pot with drainage
Last watered 2 hours ago
Best Answer
@Stall54Jo This is what I found online about finding larvae on the leaf of a plant. It's possible. If you see larvae on your leaf plant,ย the most likely culprit is a pest called "leaf miners," which are the larval stage of small flies, often appearing as wiggly lines or blotches on the leaves where they are feeding inside the leaf tissue;ย to address this, you can try removing heavily infested leaves, using insecticidal soap, or applying neem oil depending on the severity of the infestation.
Hi!!! Iโ€™m going to call in the experts!! I fear this may be a case of thrips! ๐Ÿฅน๐ŸŒฑ๐Ÿคฉ donโ€™t worry! Youโ€™re in good hands! @Stall54Jo We will help you anyway we can! Best of luck! Friends is this thrips! How to treat??๐Ÿฅน๐Ÿ‘€๐ŸŒฑโœจ @TheOddAsity @SuperbRaspfern @UltraKoreanfir @RealSimpleMama @SvelteKingfern @princesspitstop
I donโ€™t think that is the process of โ€˜guttationโ€™ or water escaping. When they do that it is usually clear. That looks more gelatinous looking and appears more sticky. Is it sticky?
Itโ€™s not thrips because the shape of thrips are long and skinny. Plus thrips are very hard to see because they are so itty bitty like spider mites, you only notice them because of their webs.
This is going to sound a bit crazy. But have you noticed any spittle bugs around your home? Itโ€™s not your typical houseplant pest. But my suspicion is that you may have had one that like your plant and decided to lay some eggs on it. It looks like it could be that they lay their eggs in a bubbly snot like substance. Full grown ones donโ€™t eat your plants but the larvae do. They larva feed on the sap and release it out their booties and itโ€™s sticky, thatโ€™s why I was asking if itโ€™s sticky.

Again I could be wrong. As Iโ€™ve never seen it in person. But if the leaves are sticky I know for a fact that that means you have a critter feeding on it. In that case you will need to treat the whole tree to get rid of them.
Quite fascinating damage and I am quite intrigued ๐Ÿคจ
I have no idea what it is!
@Stall54Jo I am totally with @SuperbRaspfern. This looks like an unusual pest, like a snail without a shell == slug babies, maybe?

The only way to figure it out 100% is to take one of those leaves with whatever is on them, and stick it in a place that is protected yet gets air, etc....grow it to adulthood. Might be a neat experiment.

Or, just physically remove everything you can see and treat with some insecticidal soap.
Wowโ€ฆvery unusualโ€ฆthey look almost like little grains of riceโ€ฆvery intriguingโ€ฆim also looking into itโ€ฆsee what I can find outโ€ฆ
@UltraKoreanfir ohhh wow! I would totally do that! Sounds like a really fun experiment! Makes me kind of sad itโ€™s not on mine, sort of but also not, since they are damaging the plant. ๐Ÿชด
@princesspitstop Dang, I donโ€™t think itโ€™s that either wrong type of damage, good guess though.
It does look like tunneling under the surface then an explosion of goo out the end
Zoom in clise on the stem pic see the wiggly line
The stem possibly, but wouldnโ€™t it also show those signs on the damaged leaf? Iโ€™m so confused ๐Ÿค”
I have one other idea but Iโ€™m not certain letโ€™s see what you all think.

Some soils contains water retention gel crystals. Could it be possible that the plant absorbed it and then proceeded to leech it out? Again this is speculation, but the white rice like specks look like it could be the dried up bits. And the gelatinous parts have not dried yet? I could see this process damaging a leaves it happens too.

Again this is speculation Iโ€™m just sharing my thoughts
You actually might not see it on the leaf part since its dead or callopsed basicaly and withering away. The stemhas enough substance to stay intact and not just die
Really think its under the surface
And there are dead paths or black paths connecting every burst or oooze whayeger it is
Ugh I thought mealy bugs were the worst ๐Ÿ˜’ that is strange looking for sure!
Thank you all for your input. I agree that this is the strangest thing I have ever seen, and I definitely will follow your lead on allowing maturity and see what happens. I have checked every leafy bathed the plant and treated it. Again thank you all so very very much.
@Stall54Jo If they make it to maturity, or even AS they change, take more pictures. I think we are all interested in seeing the end result.
@Stall54Jo I guess one question would be - are they mobile? If nothing is moving, then I'd start thinking it's something else. It just dawned on me that it could be a jelly fungus.
There are so many types. Look up jelly fungus, star jelly fungus, and toothed jelly fungus.
@UltraKoreanfir I think you are on the right track. The leaves and stem that were effected were only an inch from the ceiling where I am sure it is warm and possibly moist. We have a humidifier on our furnace and heat rises. I will deinately be checking out these fungus.
The first picture, in the bottom left, it looks like maybe whiteflies. Iโ€™m very intrigued to see what the little jellyfish guys end up being