Tetranychus Urticae - Ecology

Ecology

T. urticae is extremely polyphagous. It can feed on hundreds of plants, including most vegetables and food crops, including peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, corn, and strawberries, and ornamentals such as roses. It is the most prevalent pest of Withania somnifera in India. It lays its eggs on the leaves, and it poses a threat to host plants by sucking cell contents from the leaves cell by cell, leaving tiny pale spots or scars where the green epidermal cells have been destroyed. Although the individual lesions are very small, attack by hundreds or thousands of spider mites can cause thousands of lesions and thus can significantly reduce the photosynthetic capability of plants.

The mite's natural predator, Phytoseiulus persimilis, commonly used as a biological control method, is one of many predatory mites which prey mainly or exclusively on spider mites.