Ok today I was checking some cuttings that I have in sphagnum when I pulled the cuttings out I noticed tinny transparent worms on the cuttings does this mean? Anyone ever notice this before?

At what stage are the cuttings?
I (like many others) had experienced
the nasty "fungus gnat" thing. Their larvae
look like tiny worms and they do damage
the roots.

Sorry Gorgi should of put that info, They dont have any roots yet I am just propagating them two Panache Cuttings had the tiny worms and 2 Black Madeira also had them all 4 cuttings are in the same plastic container with sphagnum none have roots yet.

Then all I can say that I have never had that experience,
while fig cuttings are in the pre (initial) rooting stage.
I have seen fungus gnats in the final potting stage,
specially if inside-house or GH with MG potting soil.

Did you do the initial 10% bleach twig cleaning thing?

Somebody else should be able to help you out.

 

Nelson double check are they moving.
Last time i rooted just in SM i thought similar - tiny opaque worms on the scion and when i looked at it with my jewlers eypeice it actually was small pieces of the SM.
Just a possibility that i hope is the case for you.

I got an unusual request from another member about the same thing recently, asking what these worms are.  I have seen pictures, and they are exactly as you describe, and all over the place.

Can you please tell me what varieties of cuttings have some in contact with this moss?  Maybe it is coming from a specific cutting?

Martin yes they are moving, I initially thought it was just a tiny piece of the SM but its was not.

Jason its on my Black Madeira Cuttings & Panache. I have never noticed this before on any other cuttings or roots. Maybe I should throw out that sphagnum in the container and start with a fresh batch I used the same sphagnum for a bit now.

Good point Martin!
I have also mistaken such tiny SM fragments as roots!

Another (but unlikely); if you already have a f.gnat
infestation, some adults may have entered the "container" and ... 

I assure you, they are worms in this case.  I've seen them in pictures from others.

Nelson, you say you have used this SM for a while.  Please identify the cuttings you have rooted in that SM.  I want to see if there are any similarities between yours and another member I know who had these worms recently.

Fungus gnat info:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.umass.edu/umext/floriculture/fact_sheets/pest_management/images/gnatlife.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.umass.edu/umext/floriculture/fact_sheets/pest_management/fungnat.html&h=399&w=400&sz=5&tbnid=FLhG_FgCNx88WM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfungus%2Bgnats&hl=en&usg=__6y7rjeV4JcTpYX7kvV5WaIPbg0M=&ei=tQxrS_rLGcmUtgfvguSLBg&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=6&ct=image&ved=0CBsQ9QEwBQ

Does the worms you observed look anywhere near their larvae?

I would love to see a pic!

If they are worms, I would toss all the rooting material, moss, etc, and clean the cuttings. The critters are going to want to eat something, and your cuttings will be the most likely target. You won't be able to guarantee the the current  moss is clean, so start over with some fresh stuff.

Yep, the one I saw looks like it's a fungus gnat larvae:

http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/parrella/graphics/fungus%20gnat%20juv.jpg

There's a picture from UCD's website of what a typical one looks like.  I don't think I realized they were that big, the gnats are so tiny!!!. 

I communicated with Jason about this topic at the beginning of this week.

EDIT: A small gnat produces a worm like those in the photograph that follows and in Jason's link. The variety shown is *not* Black Madeira or Panachee.

Worm Date: 31 January 2010. They were EVEYWHERE! Good thing I kept them separate from my other cuttings (edit: I cleaned and went direct to cup in Turface MVP:Perlite:ProMix BX 1:1:1) as they burrowed holes in the wood. I sprayed bleach, peroxide, scrubbed, rubbed and left them the stick to dry out and when I came back. Boom. They were an equal number - if not more - that came crawling out all over the wood like a disturbed ant bed. After two rounds of this, I considered tossing the lot but I didn't. The wood smells but isn't soft or rotting, and the cambium is still white from tip to tail.

Worm Date 1 February 2010: In the middle of the night, I got a mental text from Mr. Filament, cousin of Bright Idea. So I got up and put the worm infested cuttings in water to drown the worms and if I saw at least 50 before, I drowned 50 more easy.

Worm Date 3 February 2010: After two full days of water bath, I still found three or four dead, black headed clear worms stuck on their way out of pin holes in the wood or I saw them 'floating' at the bottom of the clear cup.

JD

That is some ugly-critter-worm that I have never-ever seen before...
(suddenly, I just  got a mysterious itch).

E: OK, me calming down! It must be a cluster of worms and (singly)
they do look like f.gnat stuff; concentrating on their best next available food...

E2: I concur with Jon, clean-up, seal and re-start.
With tiny-brained f.gnats, one can never figure
where they may end up ... heck, I once inhaled an adult one
thru my nose! (my filtering-hairs stopped it), felt a twitch
(wing-fluttering), and then it got finger-squashed... funny but true).

You know the ones I seen looked thinner and no black heads not sure if its the same but I will definately change the moss and clean the cuttigns again. What a year, Jesus.

Yuck !
YES i would get new sm.
Nice pictures but ugly critter.

Ok so I also had 2 black madeira in Papertowel baggie method look fine no worms had 2 I started in soil no worms. These thigs are weird they coil when they move and are really really thin as thin as a hair or thinner even and are transparent almost I can barely see them. I look at one with my magnifying glass and no black head looks like a normal worm just tinny and clear. One thing I just remembered though I had the panache in soil first and then put it back in the sphagnum I cleaned the cutting with a mist of water from the water bottle that was it.
Another thing that gorgi got me thinking the plants that I had that died last month all had these tiny tiny little white thingies moving all over the cutting about a 1/4" above the roots wonder if they are the cause of my young rooted plants that died.

This is the closest thing I found on the net, and im starting to believe its nematodes like in the pic above.

Good Grief!
Sorry no, I have no idea what those ugly little crawly critters are.
I am starting to "itch" again...

The big nice picture that JD posted above does not seem to be just one critter. It appears to be at least three worms/larvae
(each with a black head) mingle together to make a scary composit.

nelson,

You should let them grow and use them for walleye fishing.

I think your sphagnum could also be the source of these bugs... All depends how the supplier handles his sphagnum.

nelson ,those on the pic above are same as got them too. I got this rooted cutting in a clear cup and about 2 weeks ago I noticed tiny roots,but while i was enjoying my success I noticed they`re moving :) . (you should seen my face when I realized whats going on).
The pic JD posted they look a lot thicker right ? The one we got are like human hair thick and no black heads.
Since I first seen these guys 2 weeks ago they did not multiplied a lot ,its about same amount I would say I can see around a cup maybe 20 pics.,and they are not getting any bigger either.
The best I can think of is to take the plant to some kind of botanic garden`s lab or something.
Does anybody knows how nematodes look like ?

Sorry forgot to mention I got perilite and poting soil mix 50/50. (no sphagnum).I used some antipesticide with my last watering it did not helped.
These beautiful fings are still moving :(

Take a look at pages  i found :
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.biconet.com/biocontrol/GIFs/Nematodes.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.biconet.com/biocontrol/nemas.html&h=451&w=556&sz=142&tbnid=snGnhfSZRsCmrM:&tbnh=108&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnematodes%2Bpictures&usg=__1jnHWxCme6I7QP21sOipRHThtxY=&ei=L3FrS7jaEtGBnQe23vX0BQ&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&ved=0CAoQ9QEwAA

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.organicgardeninfo.com/images/parasitic-nematodes.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.organicgardeninfo.com/parasitic-nematodes.html&usg=__Fs2jTp3H25fvCSK28jLz-Zp2j54=&h=332&w=439&sz=17&hl=en&start=18&sig2=7wu0ceu9e_tvtO8Kh6MCDQ&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=FudckWTKoRiOpM:&tbnh=96&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnematodes%2Bpictures%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4TSHB_enUS234US234%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=qnNrS63mMeKZnAfx9fyTBg

I wish pis was better quality ,I`ll keep my other figs away so they don`t get it.