Spider mite freak out

[leatherback]

Please give the species names for these ~beneficial~ mites

People pay money to get these: Phytoseiulus persimilis

Predatory Mites – Free Shipping | Planet Natural

Predatory Mites (Phytoseiulus persimilis) are an effective biological control for use against the two spotted spider mite. Once released, they will immediately begin searching for food on the underside of leaves.

www.planetnatural.com

 

[Bnana]

What planet are you on? Please give the species names for these ~beneficial~ mites that people woundn't mind having on their houseplants.

I'm on earth, you're not?. Having predatory mites is a good thing. It doesn't mean that there is a plague of anything.
There are an incredible number of species that obviously can't be identified from these photo's but it looks like something from the family Phytoseiidae.

 

[LeftHandLuke]

I discovered another pests in my trees! Tiny little red spiders, moving around fast

I'm usually able to identify predatory mites by their incredible speed. No joke! During peak growing season you can watch one of those punks start at the base of a two-foot tree and make it all the way up to the end of a top branch in a matter of seconds. These guys are a gardener's friend and one of the many reasons to avoid using general "just in case" pesticides to kill every crawling creature.

 

[LemonBonsai]

Well I think I finally found out what was making webs. When I put my plants outside I saw more webbing sland throughout the days I have seen this small black fuzzy caterpillars. And when I nudged one he spun a web to try and get away! What are these? I took 2 off my plants and couldnt see anymore but I didnt get a photo, are caterpillars bad for plants?? I havent had any run in with them yet

 

[LemonBonsai]

Just found another

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I have not seen this before.

 

[Paradox]

its probably the caterpillar of some kind of moth. Hard to ID which one though

 

[Forsoothe!]

Don't worry, they only eat leaves.

 

[LeftHandLuke]

I'm totally stumped on that one, too. It's insanely tiny! I'm amazed you were able to get such a picture of it. I recommend manually removing all of them if at all possible.

 

[LemonBonsai]

I'm totally stumped on that one, too. It's insanely tiny! I'm amazed you were able to get such a picture of it. I recommend manually removing all of them if at all possible.

It was actually a larger piece of perlite as well as large tweezers, its probably not as tiny as your thinking but still very small, im trying to find an id that looks like them but having trouble doing so

 

[LemonBonsai]

So far my only hint as to what these guys are is this


Looks similar and the description was 4 mm caterpillar which sounds right to what im seeing. Apparently they are a "very very young stage" of the gypsy moth

Heres whats interesting tho, google says gypsy moths dont spin webs

 

[LeftHandLuke]

Could you re-state the type of tree you found these on? I think I missed it in the earlier posts. Pests are often tree-specific, so that might help narrow it down.

 

[LemonBonsai]

Could you re-state the type of tree you found these on? I think I missed it in the earlier posts. Pests are often tree-specific, so that might help narrow it down.

Hasnt been specific, found webs on all my plants, however today I physically found the 3 caterpillars that I saw on my lemon, and my mango

 

[LeftHandLuke]

Got it. I'm still stumped but think the GM you tracked down could be a prime suspect, although the web thing doesn't add up. That aside, I don't think they're doing any good for your trees whatever the species and recommend getting rid of them for sure. Good luck!

 

[canoeguide]

Here in PA, I'm seeing young gypsy moth caterpillars this year also. They drift on web strands in air currents and can do so for miles. I've manually removed/killed quite a few on my trees.

 

[LemonBonsai]

Here in PA, I'm seeing young gypsy moth caterpillars this year also. They drift on web strands in air currents and can do so for miles. I've manually removed/killed quite a few on my trees.

Good to know, I think I found the momma today, any easier to identify this?


I got to thinking the very first time I saw this webbing was on my brt in my original post on page one, then I started seeing it all over my plants, so I was looking around and there he was! In the soil running along the pot of my brt, I pulled it off and snapped a pic, whats odd is that originally this all happened inside, must have been in the brt when I bought it.

 

[LeftHandLuke]

I think I found the momma today

So... Mom would actually look like this:

 

[LeftHandLuke]

I think what you found on your trees (the small dudes) is the eastern tent caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum)... https://www.britannica.com/animal/tent-caterpillar-moth
The one you photographed on the ground could be one of their big brothers who's a bit older and had time to munch a few leaves and grow. Or it could be another species. Springtime is when lots of critters make an appearance, of course. good luck!

 

[Forsoothe!]

I have added five stolen online images to my phone's Gallery so I can ID in all stages.

 

[LemonBonsai]

I was thinking a tent caterpillar but to me atleast it didnt look like pics on google, alas now begins the battle to control them, hopefully they havent gotten to out of control i did notice a spider on one of my lemons today as well, so hopefully he will assist.