Found tiny, waxy, oval, white things where the stem attaches to the leaf of my ficus. Picture isn't that great. I don't think they are mealies because they are not at all cottony/fuzzy. When I squish one it is waxy and faintly sticky. Anyone have any ideas? barb
Chances are that this bug is causing the leaf drop... try spraying with a safer's soap mixture and alcohol.
There is no leaf drop. I pulled off leaves that were begining to brown to show that almost all bugs I found were living at the leaf end of the petiole. You can just barely seem them in the photo. Otherwise the plant is quite healthy. barb
What you're seeing could be drops of sap that sometimes appear. It seems normal for this particular plant.
even though the pic is fuzzy, i can see that the white things are on a couple of the leaves - right on the central vein, too. seems to me that they're bugs rather than the white sap that these plants produce when damaged. you can try the soap or you can try q-tips dipped in rubbing alcohol - touch to the bugs to kill them and then use freshly dipped swabs to wipe the leaves/stems (get crevises well) to kill any eggs and newly hatched juveniles. retreat in 7-10 days and again in another 7-10 days if needed.
I'm suggesting the substance at the end of the petiole is the result of a normal process and is not associated with damage to the leaf. A clearer picture would help.
I think I've found it! See below. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pests/msg120650128978.html Heavens, I sure hope so! Each waxy deposit is in exactly the same place on each leaf. The deposits I put on the black piece of paper have not moved, and when squished between finger nails there is no evidence of internal organs - just the waxy smear. Thanks to everyone for your help and ideas. I do not want to spend hrs and a box of Q-tips de-bugging. I will watch it to make sure nothing else develops. ;)) barb
