My guess would be you have thrips; I don't have a lot of experience with them personally, but the simplest and fastest way to get rid of them would probably be to spray the plant with an insecticide labeled for thrips. No doubt there are other ways.

Thrips? Oh brother! I think you're right, Mr Subjunctive. Thank you so much! By the way, I loved the monstera/philodendron blog - very informative and well-put together.

Sorry, but no -- he's wrong. Not thrips at all.

That's a rove beetle. It's a beneficial insect. Well, it is when it's outdoors.

In any case, it probably came along when the plant was sitting on the floor somewhere.

Beyond that, thrips are very, very tiny. You would have been exceedingly lucky to get such a detailed image of a thrips with your camera.

See here for various images
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=thrips&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g7g-m3

Note the characteristics of thrips, among them very slender wings with fringed edges.

Here is a link that might be useful: google for thrips images

Rove beetles do seem more likely.

Oh! I went out and bought systemic Bonide and treated the plant earlier today. Surely the rove beetle will be killed off as well? Was it harmful to this plant? Well, I'm just relieved to know it's not thrips afterall. Poor plant. I hope it makes it. It really used to be quite lovely. Thanks for the help.