Mites

Question 1

Spruce Spider Mite

Answer 1

cool season mite, prefers spruce but will feed on arborvitae, cedar, dawn redwood, dougfir, hemlock, juniper, larch and pine

Question 2

Spruce Spider Mite Symptoms

Answer 2

offgreen color, mottling or stippling of the needles - usually not noticeable until early or mid summer. older, inner needles are attached first. turn yellow then bronze in June and fall prematurely - can sometimes see fine webbing

Question 3

Spruce Spider Mite Life Cycle

Answer 3

small reddish orange, oval or circular eggs overwinter in bud scales, on the bark or on the needles. hatch in mid-march to late april and begin feeding; feeding tapers off once it gets hot and dry mid summer activity slows and resting eggs are laid again. when it cools off in the fall eggs hatch and feeding resumes

Question 4

Spruce Spider Mite ID

Answer 4

very small, can be seen with a hand lens. young are pale green but become dark green to brown as they mature. adults have a salmon pink body spines and legs. young have six legs and eight at adulthood

Question 5

Two Spotted Spider Mite

Answer 5

bodies have two parts, larva have three pairs of legs, as they mature they have four pairs of legs, oval in shape brown to orange red or an almost translucent color

Question 6

Two Spotted Spider Mite Life Cycle

Answer 6

eggs attached to fine silk webbing and hatch in three days, egg, larva two nymphal stages and adult. length of time in between stages varies greatly depending on temperature, many overlapping generations per year