Red Spider Mite (Indian Population)
Tetranychus urticae (Indian biotype)
📖 Description
Red Spider Mite (also called Two-Spotted Spider Mite) is one of the most widespread and damaging mite pests in Indian agriculture, attacking over 200 plant species. The mites feed by piercing leaf tissue and sucking out cell contents, causing yellow stippling, bronzing, and ultimately leaf drop. Heavy infestations can defoliate entire plants within weeks, particularly in hot, dry conditions in greenhouses and polyhouses. Fine silk webbing on leaf undersides protects mites from contact acaricides and predators. The pest has developed resistance to most major acaricides, making rotation of modes of action and biological control with predatory mites essential for sustainable management.
⚠️ Symptoms to watch for
- Yellow stippling on leaves from feeding, fine silk webbing on leaf undersides, leaf bronzing and browning, premature leaf drop, stunted plants, reduced fruit yield, severe defoliation in heavy infestation
🩹 Treatment
- Spray neem oil 5ml/L with sticker, release predatory mites, apply wettable sulfur 5g/L, use recommended acaricides at early infestation, conserve predatory mites by avoiding broad-spectrum insecticides
🌿 Organic treatments
- Spray neem oil 5 ml/L with sticker, release predatory mites (Phytoseiulus persimilis, Amblyseius spp.), apply wettable sulfur 5 g/L, spray 5% NSKE, apply Beauveria bassiana @ 5 g/L, maintain high humidity to suppress mites
🧪 Chemical treatments
- Spiromesifen 240 SC @ 1 ml/L, Abamectin 1.9 EC @ 0.5 ml/L, Fenazaquin 10 EC @ 1.5 ml/L, Propargite 57 EC @ 2 ml/L, Hexythiazox 5.45 EC @ 1 ml/L (rotate modes of action; resistance common)
🛡️ Prevention
- Inspect undersides of leaves regularly, release predatory mites preventively in greenhouses, avoid excessive nitrogen, maintain adequate plant moisture, remove infested leaves, control weeds around fields, conserve predatory mites and Stethorus beetles by avoiding broad-spectrum insecticides, practice crop rotation
🪴 Affected plants
- Vegetables (Tomato, Brinjal, Cucumber, Pumpkin), Ornamentals (Roses, Marigold), Pulses, Cotton, Castor, Apple, Strawberry, Mulberry, Over 200 Host Plants
🦋 Natural predators
- Phytoseiulus persimilis, Amblyseius spp., Stethorus Beetles, Predatory Thrips, Green Lacewings
🌱 Host plants
- Solanum lycopersicum, Solanum melongena, Cucumis sativus, Rosa spp., Gossypium spp., Ricinus communis
🔄 Lifecycle
- Females lay 50-100 eggs on leaf undersides with silk webbing.
- Eggs hatch in 3-7 days.
- Nymphs pass through 3 stages (larva, protonymph, deutonymph) in 5-10 days.
- Adults live 15-30 days.
- Total life cycle 8-15 days in hot conditions; 20-30 overlapping generations per year in tropical conditions.
📅 Season
- Year-round in greenhouses, peaks Mar-Jun and Sep-Nov during dry warm periods
🔎 Appearance
- Tiny eight-legged mites, greenish-yellow with two dark spots in summer, turning brick-red in winter.
- Females are larger and rounder than males.
- Eggs are spherical and translucent, laid on the underside of leaves with silk webbing.
💥 Damage level
- High
🔁 Reproduction rate
- Rapid
🗺️ Geographic regions
- Indian Subcontinent
- Worldwide Tropics
- Subtropics
- and Greenhouses
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