Spider mite
Scientific name: Tetranychus urticae
Crops: several crops (cereals, fibers, green-leaf vegetables, fruits and rose plantations).
Behavior: The spider mite occurs on the abaxial side of leaves, forming colonies where they build cobwebs for their own protection and of their eggs. The pest incidence is favored by dry periods and by temperatures close to 30°C. The female spider mite can lay between 100 and 200 eggs during the cycle.
Life cycle: incubation period: > 4 to 18 days; nymph period: > 1 to 15 days; adult period: females up to 42 months.
Crop damage: scarification of the leaf tissue, which leads to sap loss and consequent reduction of the photosynthetic area.
Adults of spider mite Photo: Mário Eidi Sato
Cobweb built by spider mite Photo: Universidade da Flórida
Adults of spider mite Photo: Marcelo Poletti
Eggs of spider mite Photo: James F. Price
Damages to cotton plants caused by spider mite Photo: Leandro Marques – Elevagro
Cotton crops severely affected by spider mite Photo: Grupo de Manejo e Genética de Pragas - UFSM
Damage do strawberry caused by spider mite Photo: Revista Cultivar
Cotton area severely attacked by spider mite Photo: Revista Cultivar
Spider mite damage on strawberries Photo: Ontario CropIPM
Latria is a biological insecticide and acaricide composed of the microorganism Beauveria bassiana