European Red Mite

European Red Mite 

(Panonychus ulmi), an arthropod of the family Tetranychoidea, a pest of fruit crops.

The female of the European red mite is 0.3-0.4 mm long and bright red. The male is about 0.3 mm long and orange-red. The mite is distributed in Europe, North America, Asia, New Zealand, and Tasmania; in the USSR, it is found mainly in the northern and middle fruit-growing zones. The European red mite does great damage to apple, pear, and plum and somewhat less to cherry and sweet cherry. There are between three and six generations each year. The eggs winter on the bark of the limbs of the trees. The larvae hatch in spring. The mite’s full cycle of development (egg-larva-protonymph-deuteronymph-adult) lasts 20-30 days. The mites cause the browning and drying of leaves by sucking out their juices. Control measures are the same as for the mite Bryobia redikorzevi.