• Worldwide distribution. In tropics and sub-tropics. On cassava, okra, papaya, sweetpotato, tomato, eggplant, beans, taro, bele, cucumber, squash, other cucurbits, and ornamentals
• Common on under surface of leaves of taro, eggplant, bele, cassava and many others, especially when dry.
• Mites have needle-like mouthparts and suck sap from leaves causing white speckling on top surfaces. Later, leaves turn yellow and die early. Webs occur.
• Mites spread in wind and on plant parts.
• Natural enemies: predatory mites, ladybird beetles, lacewing larvae, pirate bugs, big-eyed bugs and predatory thrips.
• Cultural control: preserve natural enemies by not using insecticides; spray underside of leaves with water; mulch plants to preserve water in droughts.
• Chemical control: soap, white or horticultural oils, wettable sulphur; abamectin; alternatively, difocol or synthetic pyrethroids, but they will kill natural enemies.

Spider mites

Tetranychus species. The different species are difficult to tell apart; they need to be examined using a high power microscope. The two-spotted mite (Tetranychus urticae), also known as the red spider mite, is common in Pacific island countries, infesting over 200 species of plants. This fact sheet mostly concerns this species.