I have some unidentified pests/Phal. cornu-cervi problem

[jpyerry]

I have a Phal. cornu-cervi that I bought a few months ago from a seller in Thailand. When I got it, it was covered in what I believed to be hard water marks on the leaves. These marks really haven't come off despite washing the plant. A few weeks ago it started putting out a new leaf (yeah!) and I have been watching the plant very carefully. I started noticing a few problems with the plant, the tips of the leaves are starting to turn brown and areas of the leaves are turning yellow, I noticed that some areas on the plant are pitting particularly on the underside. Today, while watering and inspecting my plants, I saw what looked like very small orange dots on the brand new leaf, so I looked closer and started noticing the small dots on other areas of the plant. I couldn't make them out with my magnifying glass, so I examined them under my dissecting microscope. The orange dots appear to be insectoid, even at 20x magnification, I still had a difficult time seeing them. They are orange in color, appear to have six legs (not to sure of this one), and they do not move even probed with a needle. My first inclination was to conclude they might be spider mites, but from previous interactions with spider mites, I found they moved quite vigorously at the slightest provocation, and were much larger under the microscope, I could clearly see 8 legs and were easily identifiable, also I have not found any webbing like my previous infestations.

Does anybody have an idea of what I might be dealing with? Also, what are my treatment options?

Any help would be really appreciated.

If you are sure that it ia a bug or insect of some sort...spray it with Brookn's mix (10 drops dish soap, half teaspoon cinnamon extract and 2cups tepid water) will do the trick and flush it with water so there's no eggs on the media left to hatch...I do it every other day application to let the media get a chance to dry

[phalaephila]

I would guess that these are false spider mites or phalaenopsis mites. These do not spin webs. I have used a Safer spray containing pyrethrin with success. Do repeated applications to kill any newly hatching bugs.

Oh yes, and please, isolate the plant. Though they may not move as quickly as a spider mite, they will travel to infest other plants.

[jpyerry]

Thanks,

I googled phalaenopsis mites. And, after seeing some of the photographs, I am almost certain that this is what I have. At least, what I saw under the microscope was very similar to the pictures of phalaenopsis mites. Now that I know what I am dealing with, hopefully I can find a good control solution.

Thanks!