Topic Tuesday: Two-Spotted Spider Mite

It finally feels like fall with cool temperatures moving into North Florida last week! Cool temperatures mean we can start planting crops that require cooler temperatures and shorter days to grow. Not many people know this, but strawberries thrive in cooler temperatures around 50°F to 80°F and less than 14 daylight hours. They need these conditions to flower and produce fruits. Due to our winter climate, Florida is one of the top growers of strawberries. Unfortunately, these ideal conditions for growing strawberries, are also suitable for several pests that can impact your strawberry crop.

What is the Two-Spotted Spider Mite?
Two-spotted spider mite eggs, nymphs, and adults (Picture provided by S.I. Rondon, UF/IFAS).

The two-spotted spider mite goes through incomplete metamorphosis, meaning gradual changes will occur during the development from egg to adult. Adults will lay eggs attached to their silk webs and will hatch in ~3 days. The two-spotted spider mite will go through two larval stages, nymphal stage, and then adult stage. Time from egg to adult can vary depending on the temperature, but under optimal conditions, will complete in 5-20 days. Adult females will lay several hundred eggs during the life cycle, which can last 2-4 weeks.

 

Two-spotted spider mite eggs (Picture provided by James F. Price, UF).
Identification:

Two-spotted spider mites can vary in color from brown to orange-red, to green, but usually they will be found green-yellow or translucent. They are oval in shape about 1/50 inch long. The spider mite body has two separate parts- gnathosoma (mouthparts) and idiosoma (abdomen, thorax, and head). Larvae will have 3 pairs of legs and the later stages will have 4 pairs of legs. Spider mites, once in a crop, can move around easily by walking from plant to plant or by using their webs and wind to travel from plant to plant.

Crop Damage:
Two-spotted spider mite webs (Picture provided by UF).

Two-spotted spider mites have piercing-sucking mouthparts. They penetrate plant tissue to suck juices out of leaves, causing chlorosis. When scouting for spider mites in your strawberries, use a hand lens to look for spider mites on the underside of leaves, spider webs on the plant, graying/yellowing of leaves, defoliation, or necrotic spots on the leaves. Finding these may be a good indicator that there is spider mite pressure in your crop. Spider mites also cause damage to flowers, negatively affecting overall yield.

Cultural Control:
  • Start with clean transplants, free of eggs or larvae
  • Introduce predator mites into the field after strawberries establish
  • Use insecticidal soap or oil
  • Destroy or control weeds, since they can be host plants
  • Clean-up field after harvest and destroy residue

 

Chemical Controls:

Miticides can help control two-spotted spider mites since they are a common pest on strawberry. However, many miticides are not effective on eggs, so 2 or more applications are necessary at 5-day intervals in the summer or 7-day intervals in the winter. Also, spider mites develop resistance to most chemicals, so rotating modes of action is important. Check out the Vegetable Production Handbook of Florida for proper management practices. THE LABEL IS THE LAW. If you have concerns of two-spotted spider mite in your strawberry crop, feel free to call me at the UF/IFAS Suwannee County Extension Office, an Equal Opportunity Institution, for spray recommendations at 386-362-2771.

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Posted: November 2, 2020


Category: Agriculture, Crops, Horticulture, Pests & Disease
Tags: Horticulture, Strawberry, Suwannee County, Suwannee County Extension, Topic Tuesday, Two-spotted Spider Mite


Comments:

Courtney Darling

March 29, 2021

Thank you Toni For your comment!

Courtney Darling

March 29, 2021

Thank you Sherry for your comment!

Sherry Kunze
March 27, 2021

Great article, very well written. Love all the information, along with how to take care of the problem. A lot of people don’t understand the importance of removing those pesky little yellow dots, this article should open a lot of eyes as to why it is so important !! Thanks for the work you put into it, hope to see more on many different subjects

Donna Torrey
February 5, 2021

As a registered beekeeper in South Florida, I really appreciated this article. We all need to be aware of our wonderful native bees and not get all bees confused with honeybees. Thank you!

Toni
January 31, 2021

Very interesting. I like learning from these articles

Sylvia Willis

November 3, 2020

Thank you Rosanna for your comment. You are correct! Organocide Bee Safe 3-in-1 Garden Spray is an organic spray recommended by UF/IFAS to help control Spider Mites in field, greenhouse, and nursery strawberry production. Here is a link if interested in other organic spray options for spider mites: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in486.

Rosanna Lewis
November 3, 2020

Organocide Bee Safe 3-in-1 Garden Spray can control spider mites. It's a safe pesticide made of food grade oils that suffocate small soft bodied insects in all stages of their lives. Great alternative to harsh chemicals as it is OMRI listed and safe to pollinators.

Courtney Darling

August 10, 2020

Hello Tammy, This product has interior areas of the home on the label and is a general insecticide that controls many insects, including chicken mites, on contact. Here is the link to label: https://www.domyown.com/msds/PyGanic_Pro_Specimen_Label.pdf

Tammy Riebe
August 10, 2020

Hi Courtney this is Tammy I would like to know if you know any more about chicken mites what is a good thing to spray I’m side of our house? Thank you ,

Jane Cant

December 9, 2019

That is an excellent point. In that case, the plant will likely be dried and pressed as a sample in a botany collection and used for research, so it is likely that the entire plant will be needed.

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July 24, 2019

Like the thought of helping with plant ID, but would discourage from advising the plant be dug up to ID. Sometimes necessary I'm sure, but shouldn't be a standard, what if plant is rare or endangered?

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Hi Sandy, and thank you for the excellent questions. Rhizoma peanut in a yard setting is managed differently than rhizome peanut in a pasture setting and available herbicides are based on the classification of the land. One of our state specialists recommended mowing at this point since the ornamental peanuts is no longer dormant to prevent shading, and I'm including an EDIS publication (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep135) with herbicide options. Please feel free to email me pictures at janeecant@ufl.edu or call 386-362-2771.

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