Spider Mites and False Spider Mites 



(Acari: Tetranychidae and Tenuipalpidae) Recorded 



from or Expected to Occur in North Carolina 



Michael K. Hennessey, David L. Stephan, 

 and Maurice H. Farrier 



Department of Entomology, 



Box 7613, North Carolina State University, 



Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7613 



ABSTRACT.— Thirty-six species of spider mites have been collected 

 from North Carolina and their host plants identified. An additional 57 

 species are known from the eastern United States on hosts that also 

 occur in North Carolina. Seven species of false spider mites have also 

 been collected in the state and their host plants identified. Twenty-nine 

 others may occur in North Carolina, as their hosts are within the state. 



Spider mites (also called spinning mites, plant mites, red mites, and 

 red spiders) and false spider mites (also called flat mites) are phytopha- 

 gous arachnids usually with a body length of less than 1 mm in the adult 

 stage. Some species are polyphagous and others are apparently mono- 

 phagous. The life cycle of egg-larva-protonymph-deutonymph-adult may 

 be spent on the host, or some stages may leave the host to estivate or 

 hibernate in soil litter or to search for other hosts. One or more genera- 

 tions may occur annually. Most species are known from both male and 

 female specimens while others are apparently known only from females. 

 Mites occur at characteristic locations on the host, such as leaf or fruit, 

 depending on the species, and may usually be found in groups that 

 include all life stages. They feed by puncturing plant cells with their 

 chelicerae and eating the cell contents. The feeding, especially by large 

 numbers of mites, may cause observable damage to plants in the form 

 of bronzing, flecking, or curling of leaves. For this reason many species 

 have been regarded as pests. More detailed accounts of the life histories 

 of economically important species may be found in Jeppson et al. 

 (1975). 



Several lists of spider mites and false mites from the eastern half of 

 the United States have been published. Garman (1940) listed 15 species 

 of spider mites and 1 species of false spider mite for Connecticut. 

 Reeves (1963) catalogued 40 species of spider mites occurring on woody 

 plants in New York. Mellott and Connell (1965) listed 20 species of 

 spider mites and one species of false spider mite for Delaware. Thewke 

 and Enns (1970) listed 38 species of spider mites representing 13 genera, 

 and 1 1 species of false spider mites representing 3 genera, for Missouri. 



Brimleyana No. 12:19-27, September 1986 19 



