thanks for your reply!! I actually can be pretty sure they aren't mosquito larvae (I took a medical entomology class once and they don't look that mosquitoes to me); however, they do appear to have an insect larva like body (segmented with a gut and stuff) so it makes me think that they are insects, so I am thinking that mosquito dunks might work... I'll try and report back! Meanwhile, I've changed the water in the plant, I think it has reduced the abundance of these things, though I am sure they will come back in no time. Thanks for your help!!!

1. Can one mix a solution and water it into the soil? Yes, I would. But you have to spray the leaves also... both sides. 2. Is it safe to plant this in a bed with other plants? After I have sprayed/soaked it with insecticidal oil? Yes (specially if lacebugs do not bother the other plants) but I would still resolve the insect problem first. 3. The leaves are beginning to silver a bit. Is this from whitefly or something else? Whiteflies will not cause the leaves to discolor in such a way. Heavily infested foliage takes on a yellow, mottled appearance when you have whiteflies. Lacebug adults and nymphs will make the leaves discolor in that way though. The lacebugs feed on the undersides of leaves by piercing the leaves with their mouthparts and sucking the plant juices. This causes a mottled, silvery or white discoloration, known as stippling, on top of the leaf where the chlorophyll has been removed. The undersides of leaves are covered with dark brown to black, sticky spots of excrement. It happens to my Hino Crimsons but the nearby planted Encore Azaleas are bypassed. You may want to take samples of foliage and the pests to a local nursery in a tightly sealed plastic bag. After all, you want to apply the right controls to the correct pest. While it would be possible to have both pests, I would lean on a lacebug infestation. Again, scoop up samples and take them to a local nursery (not HD or Lowe's) or to your Extension Service. Luis

calliope: maybe? How can I identify potworm? I look around and 1 website says its length is ~1/4 inch, and the other says it can reach up to 1 inch. One thing that totally confuse me (and make me think if this is a larvae of flying bugs) is none of the pots has been out for >4 months, and placed in a very closed apartment on the second floor. I have never seen them until 2 weeks ago. So where would they come? I don't have any gnats currently (have that before and successfully eliminated with Gnatrol), but I have to admit that I got bites at night, not sure if it is related or just mosquitoes.

Without seeing a picture, by your description I'd say that the white rice things are springtails which are all part of the microherd that help to break down any food that's introduced. I always find afew of them in the catch trays. On the other hand, if you're adding too much food, then you're bin is too wet and what you might be seeing is white mites which are an indication that things are too wet in your bin. Adding some dry shredded newspaper and holding off on feeding will dry things out and get rid of the mites. There's no need to add hydrated lime to your bins. I add dry crushed eggshells which can be pulverized with a rolling pin or a coffee grinder. A tablespoon everycouple of weeks or so is all you need, but it's not absolutely neccessary. After 2 years of vermicomposting I've never had any major problems. Hope this helps. Good luck. mataka4