Grubs/Maggots

[uzbeck]

Anyone have any ideas what these are? No more than 1cm long, translucentish and move like a worm. Totally removed the roots from from this Gymnocalycium baldianum and directly or indirectly turned the lower part of the plant to mush. Don’t look like vine weevil grubs seen in the garden.
Can anybody help?

[Tina]

scariad fly maggots

[uzbeck]

Thanks Tina, that is a surprise. I remember Sciarid flies when I was growing plants in the house - often with peat. My current compost mix has only about 25% organic compost and I don’t water that often (only 5 times this year) so I am surprised the maggots find the right environment. Do you think that cat litter could maintain a sufficiently damp mix that encourages the flies?

[Diane]

I don’t think they are sciarid maggots, they are usually only a few millimetres long, and translucent. No idea, otherwise, vine weevil maggots are cream and C shaped with a black head, are you sure it isn’t that?

[uzbeck]

Thanks Diane, not Vine Weevil maggots, they like my Fuchsia so I see a few. The RHS description ties in to what I am seeing, they say up to 6mm long.

[Tina]

Must be looking at wrong bits then.

[Paul in Essex]

When I looked at the picture at first, I saw the pale thing top left and thought 'vine weevil'. Then I remembered how to zoom in and saw the sciarid larvae all over the rest of it!! Yuck. The pale thing top left is a red (or pale thing) herring.

[uzbeck]

Thanks Paul. Some sticky fly traps on the way to catch the adults. Thought I might try a Hydrogen Peroxide drench to get the maggots.

[edds]

I have had great success with nematodes but only when the compost can stay wet enough for them to survive in spring/summer or on a propagator with seedlings.

I've never had many issues with fungus gnats in compost that dries out - is your staying too wet? Or is it just that the plant has died and rotted and the sciarid flies are eating the mushy parts?

[uzbeck]

Thanks Edds , wouldn’t have thought it was damp compost, don’t water that often and compost 75% mineral. Only thought would be cat litter holding on to moisture for too long - don’t know if that’s a possibility.
Plant already rotting is a distinct possibility, May just be the plant. The mother plant was acquired 6/7 years ago as a big clump the eventually fell apart - about 6 separate plants I think, only one left now! Two other separate baldianums in the same conditions seem fine.