Pest

[pasegundo]

I have these tiny bugs all over my salvia plants. They look like tiny white hairy catepillers. They have a black base under the white hairy stuff. I also have white specs all over the stems and flowers. Can anyone tell me what they are and if they are harmful. My plants look traumatized!

[Tricky Grama]

Sounds like the caterpillars that make web worms. Thought they were cute til I learned that. The black dots are-ahem-their poo, probably. Don't really know w/o a pic. Someone more knowledgable than me maybe will respond.

Patty

[sandih]

Does it look like this?
http://www.realgreenlawns.com/austin_tx_texas/webwormsx.htm

or are they tiny when compared to a regular sized caterpillar?

[pasegundo]

my daughter got two great shots one is the white bug the other is a bunch of little things that are on the same salvias

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/Chibi_Chise/bug1.jpg
^spiked bug

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/Chibi_Chise/bug2.jpg
^other little bugs

[sandih]

OK, I found the first one in Howard's bug book. It's the lady beetle larva called "rag mop". You might want to search on the internet to learn more. They eat aphids by the hundreds. It looks like the 2nd picture is nothing but empty skin of the aphids, isn't it? If what I'm seeing is right, you've got the life cycle of the lady beetle on your salvia and it's eating an aphid infestation you have. Please verify...and don't kill it!