Bug bites. Lots of them. Mix a few drops of dish soap into some rubbing alcohol and spay the whole plant, top, bottom and the medium. Rub the leaves, rinse, and spray again. Repeat every couple of days until you don't see any new spots. Inspect the plant really closely every 2 weeks.

The scaring won't go away, but the leaves will die naturally eventually and be replaced by new clean leaves.

Kinda looks like false spider mite damage to me.

It definitely looks like the work of false spider mites, or phalaenopsis mites. I have used spray with pyrethrin with some success, repeated sprayings. Please isolate this plant if you haven't already, and treat any others that were close by. That is a nasty infestation.

Jeanne

Thanks for the advise, but how much water do I use with the dish soap and alcohal?

Would neem oil work?

I recently declared war on a stealthy spider mite incursion that seems to have become widespread when I looked away just for a second late this summer. I have been "Neeming" and insecticidal soaping recently and am going with biological warfare later this week! Predatory mites! They should arrive Wed. I hope they come in little ninja outfits though my daughter thinks pirates would be cooler.

In any event I have an AOS recipe from the Judy White series among others. Mix 1 pt 70% isopropyl ETOH with an equal volume of Formula 409, top off mixture with R/O water to 1 gallon and spray away. Not great on thinner flowers, but then neither are bugs. Using R/O is better that hard water. One of the Growers put this up as his secret weapon against all manner of insects except maybe hard scale, which he attacks with this solution and a Q-tip. I found this on the AOS web site (members section) under great ideas. He claims they use no insecticide at all, but immediately spot treat any trouble with this stuff.

I have been spraying with Neem due to said infestation and am mixing per the bottle directions. The label from DynaGro Neem directs me thusly; 1 1/2 tsp Neem with 1 1/2 tsp ProTek (works as a surfactant/spreader and disperses the Neem nicely) in 500 1 quart R/O water. It offers that mild dish soap is fine too, and someone suggested that Doggy Flea and Tick shampoo might be good too, though I have not done this. I think the pet shampoos are all more or less pyrethrin based. Remember you have to use it within around 4 hours or it looses potency. It is my understanding that the false spider mite - Phalenopsis mite can be a tough bugger, but properly applied Neem should reduce your burden of bad bugs.

I have been tossing in a few drops of Safer Insecticidal Soap to my Neem brew for extra muscle but not because of science but because it make me feel like I am doing something extra nasty to those little buggers. I have read somewhere that mixing dormant oils and soaps is bad form but cannot recall the source.

Mixing ETOH with anything dramatically reduces the amount needed for lethality due to enhanced penetration of the agent through the insects coating. It also dramatically will enhance the amount YOU can absorb through your skin so use good sense.

If you have access the AOS Judy White article on pests is a very good resource.

Good luck comrade! Death to Mites!

Thanks so much. You bought a smile to my face. I pray that I'm able to concur my enemies be they large are small :)