What's eating my pinguicula gigantea?

Pinguicula gigantea is a Mexican butterwort whose sticky leaves trap adult fungus gnats — yet fungus gnat larvae can attack its roots and small leaf tissue. Root mealybugs and aphids occasionally infest the crown. Ironically, this carnivore is also a biological gnat-control tool, but the larvae stage is its real vulnerability.

Larvae in the substrate feed on roots and leaf bases, causing wilting and rotting at the crown despite the adult gnats being trapped on leaves. Drench the growing medium with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) solution; use a well-draining mineral substrate (pumice/perlite) to discourage larval development.

White waxy colonies hidden in the root zone or leaf-base crevices; plant loses vigour and leaves yellow. Remove from pot, rinse roots under distilled water, inspect and remove pests; repot in fresh mineral substrate. Apply a dilute insecticidal soap drench.

Small colonies on new growth or flower stems; large soft-bodied insects avoid the sticky leaf traps by moving cautiously around non-glandular edges. Remove by hand or with a blast of distilled water; treat with insecticidal soap on stems only (avoid the trapping leaves).