Description of the Pest
Eggs of the twospotted spider mite are round, clear, and colorless when laid but become pearly white when ready to hatch. Nymphs and adults are egg-shaped and generally yellow or greenish in color. On each side of their bodies are one or more dark spots; the top of the abdomen is free of spots. Twospotted mites are generally found in small colonies on the underside of mature pepper leaves in late summer.
Damage
Twospotted mites are not damaging to peppers in California production areas. They seem to prefer other solanaceous crops, such as eggplant, more than peppers.
Management
Mites are not a major problem on peppers and treatments are generally not required.
UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines: Peppers
UC ANR Publication 3460
E.T. Natwick (emeritus), UC Cooperative Extension Imperial County
J.T. Trumble, Entomology, UC Riverside
J.L. Aguiar, UC Cooperative Extension Riverside County
Acknowledgement for Contributions to Invertebrates
W.J. Bentley (emeritus), UC IPM and Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Parlier
W.E. Chaney (emeritus), UC Cooperative Extension Monterey County
R.L. Coviello, UC Cooperative Extension Fresno County
C.F. Fouche, UC Cooperative Extension San Joaquin County
C.G. Summers (emeritus), Entomology, UC Davis and Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Parlier
