High: 78°F ~ Low: 55°F Saturday, May 25, 2013 Hot weather just
right for spider mitesPosted Monday, August 1, 2011, at 4:39 PM
One insect that thrives in hot weather is beginning to show up
in a few locations. The twospotted spider mite has been found in
Lafayette and Saline County. Twospotted spider mites are very
small greenish, yellowish to orange arachnids with two dark
spots on their abdomen. Adults can barely be seen with the naked
eye, and they have 8 legs. Drought triggers spider mite
outbreaks in soybeans. Hot and dry conditions reduce natural
fungi that infect mites, and increase their reproductive rates.
The forecast for continuing hot and dry conditions suggests that
careful scouting of soybean fields for mites could be a good
investment of time. Their development rates increase when
temperatures climb over 91 degrees F and a generation can be
completed in as few as 4 days under the very hot temperatures we
are experiencing. Spider mite damage is first typically noticed
near edges of fields. They