-3- 
aite will help to control this pest. 
Cant Ion : Dost goggles should be worn when sulfur is being 
handled, since it is irritating to the eyes. Eye irritation is much 
■ore severe during dusting operations than at threshing time. Unless 
the amount of sulfur used per acre is far in excess of the amount re- 
commended, eye irritation at threshing time is slight and is usually 
not noticeable until the eyes and face are washed* Precaution should 
be taken to prevent the sulfur from Igniting during dusting operations. 
Bobber-tired tractors and dusters should be grounded by a dragging 
chain. Sulfur should be kept away from hot motors and motor exhausts. 
Description and Habits 
The two-spotted alte, or common red spider, Is a tiny spider- 
like creature not quite large enough to be readily seen with the 
naked eye* It is usually reddish, but the color may range from 
yellow, orange, or brown, to green, and often, but not always, it 
has two minute dark spots on the upper part of the body. Several 
kinds of spider mites will feed on lima beans, but during 19U3 the 
two-spotted mite was commonly found on this crop* With the latter 
the green color may predominate during midsummer when the plants 
are green and succulent. However, many red, yellow, orange, or 
brown two-spotted mites may always be found. As the season advances, 
post of the mites may be orange or red* 
The adult females lay 6 or 7 eggs per day* The young mites 
that hatch from these eggs grow very rapidly and may mature in 10 
days* Under low temperatures they do not develop so fast, but under 
high temperatures mites Increase so rapidly that they seem to appear 
suddenly in lima bean fields and may cause considerable damage be- 
fore they are noticed* 
The two-spotted mite is able to live and develop on a wide 
variety of plants. It is difficult to name a cultivated plant upon 
which it has not been found, and after the beans have been harvested 
it will feed on almost any available weeds* Morning-glory is a com- 
mon food plant, and alfalfa is the most conspicuous cultivated food 
plant associated with lima beans. The mites are apparently able to 
survive the winter and build up In the spring more successfully on 
alfalfa than on other plants around lima bean fields. By the time 
the beans are up, the mites may already be developing on alfalfa* 
In many bean fields, especially in those formerly in alfalfa, the 
mites are often present and well distributed on the plants by the 
time the trifoliate bean leaves appear. The cutting and hauling of 
green alfalfa is a well-known means of scattering the mites. This 
dispersal is especially noticeable in bean fields to the leeward 
of alfalfa fields and along the roads where stalks of hay are lost 
from the hay trucks as they pass. Weedy ditch banks and roadsides, 
as well as farm gardens and home yards, are likewise important 
sources from which mites spread to nearby bean fields. 
