Scientific Name
Dinothrombium sp.
Arabic Name
N/A
Tagged As
N/A
Endangered Status
Description
Spider mites are 1-2 mm in size. Body slightly oval and covered with hair. The spider mites can range from a scarlet red to a dark brown color. Eight legs. Resembles small red spiders.
Range and Habitats
These mites are commonly found in and around cultivated settlements all over the Middle East. They generally live on the undersides of leaves of plants, where they may spin protective silk webs, to protect them from any predation. They can cause damage by puncturing the plant cells to feed.
Spider mites are known to feed on several hundred species of plant, and have developed resistance to many chemical control methods.
Breeding
Spider mites lay small, spherical, initially transparent eggs, spinning silk webbing to help protect the colony from predators. Hot, dry conditions are often associated with population build-up of spider mites. Spider mites can hatch in as little as three days, and become sexually mature in as little as five days. One female can lay up to 20 eggs per day and can live for two to four weeks, laying hundreds of eggs. A single mature female can spawn a population of a million mites in less than a month.