1. Spider mites are known to feed on several hundred species of plants.They generally live on the undersides of leaves of plants, where they may spin protective silk webs, and they can cause damage by puncturing the plant cells to feed.
2. One female can lay up to 20 eggs per day and can live for 2 to 4 weeks, laying hundreds of eggs. This accelerated reproductive rate allows spider mite populations to adapt quickly to resist pesticides, so chemical control methods can become somewhat ineffectual when the same pesticide is used over a prolonged period.
3. The body of a spider mite is separated into two distinct parts: (1) the gnathosoma and (2) the idiosoma. The gnathosoma includes only the mouth parts. The idiosoma is the remainder of the body and parallels the head, thorax and abdomen of insects. After hatching from the egg, the first immature stage (larva) has three pair of legs. The following nymphal stages and the adult have four pairs of legs.
4. The two-spotted spider mite is oval in shape, about 1/50 inch long and may be brown or orange-red, but a green, greenish-yellow or an almost translucent color is the most common. The female is about 0.4 mm in length with an elliptical body that bears 12 pairs of dorsal setae. Overwintering females are orange to orange-red. The body contents (large dark spots) are often visible through the transparent body wall. Since the spots are accumulation of body wastes, newly molted mites may lack the spots. The male is elliptical with the caudal end tapering and smaller than the female. The axis of knob of aedeagus is parallel or forming a small angle with axis of shaft.
5. All mites have needle-like piercing-sucking mouth parts. Spider mites feed by penetrating the plant tissue with their mouth parts and are found primarily on the underside of the leaf. All spider mites spin fine strands of webbing on the host plant — hence their name.
6. The mites feeding causes graying or yellowing of the leaves. Necrotic spots occur in the advanced stages of leaf damage. Mite damage to the open flower causes a browning and withering of the petals that resembles spray burn.
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