Looks like the bastards bit your finger.

Not my area of expertise, but my guess is root knot nematodes. Can you research and see if that fits....

The creatures inside are closer to tiny red flies. Also the bandage is because my knife slipped while I was chopping onions.

the better question is... why did you dig up the azalea to find these ...

was it already dead????

i dont treat for everything i find.. unless it has some impact.. on a living plant .... and if this was the host plant.. it might be irellevant to every other plant in the yard ...

but i do approve of the discovering the mystery.. and am surprised no one has hit the mark ...

you could take some to the county extension office for a full ID ... if you still have them ...

ken

I was planting a shade garden in the gap between my azaleas and found this growing on the root of an azalea who had been looking sickly recently.