MINUTE, SUCKING MITES INJURING FOLIAGE 
207 
The Red Spider (Tetranychus bimaculatus Harv.) 
In greenhouses, throughout the year, many plants are subject to 
attack by an exceedingly small mite, commonly known as the ‘“‘red 
spider.” Very fine webs are spun 
on the under surfaces of leaves 
or over flower heads, and beneath 
these the mites work, sucking the 
juices of the leaves, giving them 
a sickly yellow or brown appear- 
ance, and finally killing the plants, 
unless checked. 
In the Southern states cotton 
is injured by this species, the leaves 
turning brown and falling off. 
Vegetables grown outdoors, 
especially beans, cucumbers, and 
melons, often are infested, par- 
ticularly in the Southern states. 
Rarely, shade trees in the South 
are injured. 
The mite is reddish or greenish 
in color, one fiftieth of an inch 
long, has four pairs of legs, and 
its body is marked with two 
darker spots. 
In greenhouses, fumigation is 
not effective. The mites may be 
controlled by frequent spraying 
with clear water or with soap solu- 
tion. 
Fie. 256.— Foliage injured and webbed 
by the Red Spider; and adult Red 
Spider, greatly enlarged. Original. 
On such plants as are not injured by sulphur an effective 
treatment is a spraying with water 1 gallon, flowers of sulphur 
1 ounce. 
On cotton or truck crops the last-mentioned spray is effective. Or 
the plants may be dusted with a mixture of sulphur and air-slaked 
