Whoever sent you your new Lithops sent you all sorts of creepy crawlers. That irritates me because what if you didn’t notice or didn’t know any better? Those bugs could have made your plant life hell, and ruin your collection.

You did a good job cleaning them off because I don’t see any bugs left behind:). Just keep your eye out, but I’m sure you will. Keep them quarantined. You did exactly what I would have done, even if it’s not the best time to repot, but sometimes ya gotta do whatcha gotta do;). Tbh in about a month they should be snapping out of their summer sleep anyways.

The only thing I would suggest is to keep them dry for about 3-4 weeks. In about a month you can give them a drink. Hopefully the one that’s late absorbing it’s leaves should be done by then. I have a couple that are at the same stage.

Keep them in really nice bright filtered light or morning sun/afternoon shade. Once you start to water you can begin to acclimate them to stronger light. Mine are kept outside all year long. I keep them on my porch so if the nights drop to freezing they’re protected, but you must live closer to the water than I do since you’re a10a so you probably won’t ever have to worry.

In our climate I find Lithops to be easy to grow. Goodluck;).

Btw your new Lithops are really beautiful and vibrant. Honestly my fav is either the fat reddish one or the middle one in the pic where you’re holding them all together. The one at 6 o’clock in the same pic is nice too;).

Thank you for your feedback Kara!!:) I read a lot of your comments on here, and you are always super helpful!

I was very annoyed when I saw the bugs. I brought them into the light for a pic after unboxing, and immediately saw things moving. I had the microscope camera and was absolutely disgusted. They are a lot cheaper than other sellers and this maybe why. I feel horrible for people who purchase from this seller and don’t notice:(

I’m glad to hear I did the right thing. I was so thorough in cleaning the roots and rinsing the bugs off so I hope they are gone. I stared at them on a white paper plate for like 10 minutes waiting for something to move before actually putting them in the pot lol.

The lithops are the only succulent I keep inside. I think all the pictures Ive seen online of critters taking bites from lithops has scared me into keeping them inside. .My collection is getting so big my fiance would probably appreciate me moving some outside. I live on the coast a few blocks from the beach so they should be fine:)

Thanks again for your advice and nice comments!! I will make sure to hold off on watering and keep them quarantined until I know its safe. I agree the one in the middle is one of my favorites along with the one at 10 oclock in the same pic:)

So I figured out they are scales.

Kara have you ever had them on your lithops? If so what's the best way to treat them.

Alcohol or insecticidal soap. Complain to the seller!!!

You can try for a full or partial refund because that's not right at all. At the least you can warn them because the seller may just be oblivious.

Ewwmayo thanks for your response!

I've been spraying them with alcohol since I got them and it seems to be getting worse. Maybe I haven't been spraying them enough. I pulled them all up the other day and scraped what I could off of them and washed them off again and rubbed rubbing alcohol on each and every one :( I got some insecticidal soap a few days ago so hopefully that helps. If you have a brand that you recommend I'll need to get more soon.

As far as the seller he is a f****** idiot! >_< First he made me send him pics to confirm there were bugs.. which I had because I have a jewelry microscope. Then he sent me credit to his bug shop. Then he said he was getting more from a "new supplier", but ended up sending me more with bugs. So I'm done with him at this point. LOL

You definitely don’t want anything from his “bug shop”. I’m gonna guess his plants are infested:(.

Jessica

Are you sure they are/were scale? I know scale since I had some on another plant, but unless it is really bad infestation, plants recover well. Mind you, I don't have that experience with Lithops (scale or any other bugs on them). Do you have pics of the bugs? (If I had to pick which bugs to have, it would be scale rather than mealy or mites or thrips - IMO, scale is easier to get rid of).

Another thing I would worry about - and maybe I am jumping here since you didn't mentioned it - is how often do you "wet" Lithops. Only because you said you washed them thoroughly, and seems that you are spraying them often. Just wondering...

Kara,

I'm learning the hard way I guess. I'm going to go home tonight when I get off and dig them all up one more time. Some haven't shown signs of being infected yet. I'll keep all the infected ones in their own pot in a different room:( I have been trying to control them and they are forsure just getting worse. I was trying to scrape them and punctured some..just put alcohol and cinnamon on them and they seem to be doing okay..but maybe I should just toss them :'(

Rita,

Here is a picture of the bug before they started affecting the plants. There was multiple types I believe, but this is the only one I got a good picture of them. I never really water my larger lithops because they never seem to need it, but I have been spraying them. They are healthy overall, besides the bug infestation.

I’m curious to see pics because in this pic

I don’t see any scale. That chunk that’s missing could have been a big ol’ scale, but everything else is just scars. When you get home take pics. I bet you’re sitting in traffic right now. I just got home and there is traffic all over the Bay Area! Worse than normal.

I use to always think every scab was scale;), but it wasn’t. Scale should not take any flesh with them when you scrape them off, but scars will remove flesh when picked off.

Here is a pic to show scars that resemble scale, but isn’t.

Haha Kara exactly Bay Area traffic is no joke!

Hmm whatever it is it just keeps getting worse. I definitely picked flesh off of some with my cleaning -_- lol. I'm nervous to dig all of them up again if it's not forsure scales so I only did a couple.

^Here is a picture of one from the newest batch. I took out of a bowl of little ones even though it doesn't seem so bad yet. Don't think those have been affected by whatever this is yet.

^Most of the ones in this pot look fine from the top.

Scale, after picked/cleaned off, doesn't leave holes in plant. There could have been bugs, but I doubt it was scale. What I see, same as Kara said, doesn't look like scale. Lots of it seems to be mechanical damage; some has scabbed over. Succulents could have oedema, which is physiological disorder caused by plant taking in more water than it can transpire, and it looks very often same as what I see in your photo. If you try to pick scab off, it will leave hole in the plant. There is much bigger chance of plant getting infected if there is open damage, like what is visible in your close-up photo. I may be wrong about oedema, as I never experienced it on Lithops. Some of the damage could have happened in transit, you never know how much package has been tossed around. I wouldn't try to pick anything, old 'leaves' will get absorbed eventually.Is this bug you are talking about? (circled in red):

Plants look quite good otherwise. It is not easy to keep all plants totally 'pristine'.

Rina,

Thank you for your comments! Here are the bugs I was talking about circled (sorry should have done that in the first place)

Here is a picture of my first patient that didn't make it through surgery. It had holes all over it where it looked like bugs were crawling into it.

I'm more confused now than ever LOL. It has to be some kind of bug doing this right? The lithops looked perfectly fine when I first received them(minus all the bugs crawling on them)..but the marks have gotten so much worse overtime. I rarely water because the larger ones seem to not need it as often as the smaller ones.

Should I just leave them all together at this point and hope for the best? Ugh :(

Now I see! Thank you.

They look very similar to bugs I had recently on brussels sprouts - but from what I found out, they feed on brassicas only...so I don't think that's what they are. Here is some write up on them, maybe you can try searching if there are any flea beetles that like succulents - I don't think so, but I didn't search: brassica flea beetles or another one - HERE -

(The infestation was something I never saw before. I pulled all plants and destroyed them. I don't know why there was so many, I never had same problem before. Actually, I never heard of vegetable beetles until couple of weeks ago! :)

Thanks Rina!!!

They very well could have been flea beetles:( I read they do like to feed on succulents! Thanks for the info you posted very VERY helpful! I have never heard of vegetable beetles either! Sorry to hear you had to deal with them and pull your plants. >:(

I hope the root wash/new sterilized soil(twice), rubbing alcohol, and insecticidal soap has done the trick. Hopefully the ones I barely picked at will heal >_< AHHHHH I still can't believe that guy sent me bugs...but lesson learned.

The worst!

Are you able to share your photos from the dinolite? I wanted to get one of those but they are incredibly expensive! I got a very cheap one from Amazon instead which doesn't have the greatest resolution..

I wonder if the supplier has a license to ship plants into California. Our agricultural laws are strict, but sometimes things slip through.

Jessica that is crazy. I’ve never seen anything like that on my plants. I’ve heard of other beetle type monsters drilling into succulents, but that’s usually with Agave and cactus. A little tougher plants, but no way a poor little Lithop could handle that. Next time I’m at Lowes or HD I will keep my eye out for nice Lithops and send you some;).

Ewwmayo: Yes I can share some photos!! I will post some tonight after I get home from work and walk the dog:) I got the most basic dinolite because I didn't want to spend too much..I think it was $100 or a little more. It's pretty cool, but I've only used it a couple times so I'm still getting the hang of it. I need to create a special stand to hold the camera in place while I take pics...just haven't gotten around to it so my shaky hand will have to do for now. :)

Igteacher: I have no idea:( He has an etsy account with amazing reviews. Nobody warns you you are about to buy bugs! His family supposably owns a farm, and they have both retail and online stores. He even travels with his plants to the different flea markets arround California. I did notice he has taken the lithops off his website, and I haven't purchased other plants..but I'm sure they are all infected. :(

Kara: Geez you are so sweet:)! If you ever come across any nice ones I'd be happy to Venmo or Paypal you. But yes so crazy right!? Some of the holes in the succulents did look like drill holes lol. I don't know what's wrong with me I still don't have the heart to throw any of the ones I picked away. Lol >_<

*Thank you all who have helped me. I so appreciate this community on here:)*

Ewwmayo: Here are some pics..again not the best, but I only used it a couple times. I hate that you have to have it plugged into a laptop to use it -_-

^Baby growing on beheaded stem

One of the 2 survivors from my seeding lithops adventure:)

Echeveria bloom

Below is a video of same baby lithop today! I'm spraying alcohol on it in the video. I saw some stuff in the crack and knew it wasn't there before.

KARA & RINA LOOK WHAT THE BUGS ARE DOING !!!! I also added the video I took when I first received them from seller..wait for the end I will focus in eventually lol:( FML I think I'm tossing all of them.

Whoa, those little buggers are fast. The video really shows it best. I wasn't able to identify them but eesh, that's terrible.

I have the USB2 pluggable microscope and was able to hook it up to a smartphone with a microUSB adapter. You might be able to do the same? The one I got came with a flexible stand which I found it easier to handle the camera. Not sure if you can find something similar for yours.

Right!? I have no idea what to do, but throw them away because I can't identify them and they are TINY. Terrible this guy is sending these little bugs to people. :(

Ooooh you are so smart I didn't even think of looking for an adapter! I have the dinolite because I work at a jewelry store and it works well for jewelry. I usually take pics of my plants with my iPhone, but when I saw those lithops I decided to pull it out >_<. The legs always pop off my stand haha..I need a new one.

One thing you can also try is sticking some of them with clear scotch tape. That way you can keep them held in one spot and then get a photo of much higher magnification/better focus.

I never trust any sellers to sell plants that are free of pests. That is why I always repot into my own mix when I buy new plants. It gives a chance to examine the roots to find any mealie bugs and my mix contains a long term insecticide. I think you are overreacting to the insects you see on your plants. Why don't you simply use flyspray to kill the ones you can see. I personally would use a systemic insecticide but not everyone likes doing this. You have probably imagined the scar damage as being caused by scale - it doesn't look like scale, and the small black insects may or may not be feeding on your plant. Spray them to put your mind at rest and don't slag off the seller as they may be unaware of the problem.

Ewwmayo: Another good idea!:)

S G: I don't think you read the entire thread as I did repot these after getting them because I saw them right away. Also rinsed the lithops and their roots before replanting them in a steralized mix, and have done it again since getting all of them. I've more than simply sprayed/soaked them with alcohol/insecticidal soap/neem oil to try and kill them before and after replanting. They seem to be burrowing into the lithops. I've thought about systemic pesticides, but am still uncomfortable with using them with a dog around, and especially because these lithops are in my kitchen window. I was most definitely imagining scale scars, but I now know it's not them. And you may be right about overreacting because I'm known to be dramatic:) The seller was sent these photos and made aware of the problem. I was nice enough to figure it was an overlooked mistake, and after he apologized and promised to send me some from his “new shipment” a month later, those were infested too. I haven't even asked him for a refund. I also respectfully haven't once mentioned the sellers page or his name. So again reading helps. And btw no one should be defending a non-named online plant seller that delivers tons of obvious bugs on the side. I have bought other plants online..even from the nurseries with bugs in them and am usually able to deal. I haven't seen anything like this with lithops, and 'tons of obvious bugs' wasn't part of the description when I paid for them.

Totally agree, s g - all my newly acquired plants go through a period of quarantine before they go into my collection - even those from the most trusted German nurseries. I combine this with the necessary period of acclimatisation they need to adapt to the Mediterranean sun.

I did actually read the whole thread. I mentioned my standard method of repotting new plants but I never implied that you hadn't. Merely stated that it is a standard I employ.

Whether or not you actually mention the seller by name (and I had read that you did not mention them by name), you are still slagging them off in this thread. Yes, they are not identified but you are still castigating them.

If I sold some plants to someone who found some Collembola in the soil (as an example) and complained about bugs damaging the plants, I would be rather mystified as to what they were complaining about, and helpless to respond without more accurate info eg the ID of the bugs.

You have not identified the bugs you have in your pots so how do you know that they are harmful to your plants? They may be feeding on the organic matter in the soil. I have not seen these insects mentioned as a pest of succulents (whatever they are) so they may not be attacking your plants.

I fail to see how a systemic insecticide applied to a small pot can be a problem to a dog, but then again, I did state that some people don't like using them whatever. Each to their own... Just my 2c worth.

S G: The seller sent me bugs that are damaging the lithops, and it's only gotten worse no matter what I spray or rinse or scrub. They seem to be carving in to do god knows what and leaving scars in their path. I would consider that harmful especially because it's getting worse. Last night I resorted into smothering them all in rubbing alcohol, water, neem oil, and dish soap.

The seller has seen both pics/videos and cannot identify them himself, and has given me no advice on treatment. I came on here for advice/help identifying the bugs so that I could kill them, not to bash him in any way. I have been dealing with him since mid June and finally worked up the courage to post them on here for help since he couldn't help me. IMO it's unprofessional for someone whose business is in shipping plants, to send obviously infested ones multiple times. As far as I'm concerned he probably should be named publicly so other people don't buy plants from him. He has had to take lithops off his page with other plants so obviously there is a problem. So I guess we will forever disagree on that lol.

I do think you're right about the systemic pesticides, and I'm so tempted to get some. I have a tiny dog, and a lot of my pots are at his level. That is my own fault, but I also thought he was going to get bigger when I got him a year ago. He normally leaves the plants alone, but I wouldn't want him to get sick if he were to bite the plant. I guess as long as I wear proper protection and keep him away until they dry everything should be fine.