Plant mite / Two spotted spider mite

Tetranychus urticae

Appearance

•   Adults 1mm long. They are pale to light green and have two red eyespots near the head. Females usually have a large dark patch on each side of the body, with numerous bristles covering the legs / body.

Lifecycle

•  Eggs are pearly-white and are laid on the underside of infested leaves and hatch in 3 days. The female can lay several hundred eggs during her lifetime.
•  The length of time from egg to adult varies between five and twenty days. The young look similar to the adults, except they are smaller and have only 3 pair of legs..
•   The adult female lives for two to four weeks.

Habits

•  These mites produce a silk webbing that covers infested leaves. They can attack ornamental plants, fruit/vegetable crops, some trees and plants in greenhouses.
•  This mite prefers the hot, dry weather of summer and autumn but may occur anytime during the year.
•  Overwintering females hibernate in ground litter or under the bark of trees or shrubs.