Hi,

I had adopted a 'Dwarf Cavendish'(Musa Acuminata) of which I had found a few white, hard, crusty spots on the leaves. So, I had understood that these can be easily removed and then washed with dish soap which should solve the problem. I went one step further, though.

The mother plant had already sprouted two smaller baby plants. So, I took the plant outside, soaked it in water and removed it from its pot. Then I cut off one of the baby plants and after washing it in soap, I put it in a large cup of water. The remaining baby plant and mother, was washed and rinsed thouroughly with soap and water and repotted in a new pot with new dirt. Within just a week or so, the mother began dieing while the baby thrived. The mother continued to die off until one day, I realized the mother was dead because the stalk had become very, very soft. I took my electric hand saw and cut her down; as close to the dirt as I could get and noticed a couple of little bugs running for cover.

They look almost identical to the Garden Symphylan, except instead of being white, they were rust colored. Also, not sure if this is relevant, but the inside of the stalk on the mother plant was soaked with water. I've looked around on the net for what this bug is, but I haven't had any luck.

Does anyone know what kind of bug it is...can't get a picture of it cause it moves to fast. Also, how do I get rid of them? Thanks...