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Author Topic: Small black flies on lettuce  (Read 5067 times)

Dans

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Spalding
    • Six Oaks
    • Facebook
Small black flies on lettuce
« on: June 09, 2016, 01:09:57 am »
I'm still quite a novice veg grower. Tried some lettuce in the polytunnel this year, a friend sowed it while she was sitting for us and did it very thickly. When I went to thin it I noticed a lot of black flies. I was quite ruthless in my thinning but a week later the whole veg bed is teeming with these little flies, mostly crawling rather than flying. I have lettuce, peas, carrots, onion and garlic in that bed. I have lettuce in other beds in the polytunnel but they are unaffected, they are also different soils though.

Any ideas what they are? I can try and take a picture if it helps but they are quite small. They don't seem to be causing damage to the plants but I have noticed white round specks on some of the leaves from lettuce from this bed.

Dans
9 sheep, 24 chickens, 3 cats, a toddler and a baby on the way

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PK

  • Joined Mar 2015
  • West Suffolk
    • Notes from a Suffolk Smallholding
Re: Small black flies on lettuce
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2016, 08:02:23 am »
I'm assuming you would recognise black fly (aphids) so my guess is that they are sciarid flies, sometimes known as fungus gants, which are common in compost. I don't think they do much damage on established plants.

Dans

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Spalding
    • Six Oaks
    • Facebook
Re: Small black flies on lettuce
« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2016, 01:15:40 pm »
Yes! That sounds right. They look a bit like gnats but we weren't getting bitten and that bed had an explosion of mushrooms when we made it. Thank you!

Dans

p.s.  :wave:
9 sheep, 24 chickens, 3 cats, a toddler and a baby on the way

www.sixoaks.co.uk

www.facebook.com/pg/sixoakssmallholding

www.goodlife.sixoaks.co.uk

 

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