What are red spider mites and what effects do they have on plants?

1. What is the insect?

Red spider mites are commonly known as big spiders, sand dragons, and big dragons. Their scientific name is spider mites. The body color of adult mites varies greatly, generally being red and pear-shaped. Female mites are dark red and oval. The overwintering eggs are red, and the non-overwintering eggs are light yellow. The young mites are nearly round, have three pairs of legs, and are red when they overwinter, and yellow when they do not. They lay eggs once a year, about 1,000 at a time, which hatch after a month. There can be 13 generations in a year.

2. What are the effects on plants?

It has a wide distribution, a diverse diet, and can harm more than 110 species of plants. The main hazards are vegetable crops in the Leguminosae, Solanaceae, Cucurbitaceae and Liliaceae families. When the temperature rises in spring and the plants begin to sprout, the overwintering female adult mites begin to cause damage, first to the leaves, and later on, covering the entire leaf. They can also be spread by wind. The peak period is generally from July to August, which will cause the fully mature leaves to turn yellow and white, seriously affecting normal growth and may even cause death.

3. How to prevent and treat

Red spider mites usually occur frequently in high temperature and dry environments. Therefore, you should pay attention to timely prevention and control when the temperature is high, change the maintenance environment, and pay attention to more ventilation. Its natural enemies can also be used to help eliminate it, including the small flower stink bug, the multicolored ladybird, the phytoseiid mites, the bundle-tube mite-eating ladybird, etc. In addition, if the insect pest is serious, it is recommended to spray pesticides for treatment. The drug can be 10% benbuterol emulsifiable concentrate at a concentration of 1000 times, or it can be mixed with 3000 times of 5.7% emamectin benzoate emulsifiable concentrate. The spraying effect will be better.