This sounds exactly like when 3 of my hibs had 'white flies'. If you do a search on this forum, perhaps you can find that post- it was about end of last year I think when I posted it.

Funnily, I too described it on here as rice grain like bugs.

Turned out to be white flies in the end, with the help of a lot of people here who gave me links to pics.

I got rid of the infestation on 2 of the 3 hibs- with constant washing under the sink (every single day) and spraying water with few drops of neem in it (every other day perhaps).

The 3rd hib- which was the largest, I guess I couldn't do as thorough of a job, because the infestation kept coming back every few weeks.

It was actually doing fine all of Dec but when I got back from vacation few weeks ago, I noticed the flies again and this time, I just got fed up and threw it out before it infested all my other plants.

Sorry I can't be of more help- just letting you know what I did (or didn't do).

I can't rule it out entirely, but I did a web search and most of the pictures I found didn't match very well. The "eggs" were mostly on the top of the leaves ("top" being defined as the side that faces the center of the rosette) and were more closely spaced and longer/narrower than the pictures I've found. Also I never saw any adults flying anywhere near the plant, or any flying off the plant when it was disturbed, though since I just got it that may not be relevant.

Also most of the sites I've been to mention whiteflies as being mostly a problem in the SE United States. Is Iowa plausible? I think the plant in question probably also got a serious chill (like high-30s F), which I would think would kill them if that's what it was.

I dunno. Like I said, I can't rule whitefly out, but I can't quite rule it in, either.

Hi there, It may not be bugs, eggs at all. I have a vine called strictocardia that gets something very similar looking. It is a form of edema, over hydration of the plant. It only occurs when the vine is brought in at the end of summer and never occurs outside for some reason. Seems to be harmless enough. Of course it may be bug eggs and something completely different than what I've experienced here.
Hope you're warmer than I! 8 degrees here today.

Oedema wouldn't wipe off. And whitefly eggs would be much smaller than what you are describing, as well as located on the underside of the leaf. It's a mystery!

Keep your plant sprayed with a mist of rubbing alcohol and water for a couple of weeks, in case of spider mites or the eggs of other critters.

Fair enough. I asked the person who gave it to me if it had been outside, and where she'd gotten it, and she said it was bought in Iowa from a greenhouse (a big supplier of tropical plants in Iowa, which I've gotten plants from them second-hand before and never seen anything like this), and she'd never had it outside after all. Also she'd never seen any flies on or around it.

So it's a mystery. But I'm at least less anxious about it. If something exciting happens, I'll post back, I guess.

Did you ever figure out what they were? i am having the exact same problem with my palm plant. I describe them as tiny white grains of rice too and have been to 2 plant shops with no luck of identifying. haha

HU-975325142 - you are not likely to get a response from a 15 year old thread. I know a little about the OP and he doesn't visit here much.

You would be wise to start you own thread (with pictures) and tag it with several relevant topics, such as houseplants, insects, et cetera.

@HU-975325142

on the other hand, were you able to figure it out? im having the same issue

A picture is worth .......

Al