The Earliest Warning Sign for Twospotted Spider Mite Is Knowing Your Crop

Posted by Brian Sparks|April 5, 2022

One of the basics of good pest management is matching the right treatment to the right pest. According to Justin Leavitt, Sales Manager for BioBee, it is important to understand the different life cycle stages of twospotted spider mites to identify them correctly. The eggs are a perfect circle, and the adults have the characteristic two spots on their back.

“We tell people to try to find the adults because the two spots are an accumulation of the body waste, so in the earlier stages it may not be as clear whether they are there or not,” Leavitt says. “That being said, we’ve all seen the clear spider mites with those two black spots, which is great, but the spots can also be orange, different shades of red, yellow, etc. due to their different environments. Don’t be too quick to judge on color.”

You also want to be aware there are look-alikes out there. For example, the Lewis mite (Eotetranychus lewisi) is controlled using a different strategy. The Lewis mite is smaller than the twospotted and has four spots on its back. It is also a bit more host specific. If you’re unsure of the differences between the two mites, you can reach out to Extension or your BioBee supplier partner for assistance.

Learn more in the video below.