Spider mites are members of the Tetranychidae family, which is reported to contain over 1000 species.
Spider mites contain 4 distinct phases of their life cycle. After hatching, they enter the first 6-legged larval stage, then into the protonymph. and Deutonymph, and finally adult.
In adult form, they are considered a “medium-sized” mite, only 0.4 mm long, with the females weighing approximately 5 times as much as the male adults.
In most species, both the males and females are straw coloured. However, fully engorged females tend to be more opaque. And there are some colour variations within species, including shades and hues; these are commonly green/red/brown combinations.
They spin a dense silk web to help protect themselves from predators, which is usually the key indicator for spider mites.
They have irregular, but usually circular patterns of damage.
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The typical life cycle of Spider mite for australian conditions
