The Spider Mite Spider mites, also known as two-spotted mites, become a particular problem for the gardener through the winter. Normally, they hibernate in ground litter or under the bark of trees or shrubs. However, if they stowaway onto a plant being brought indoors, the artificial lights, and warm, dry, conditions of most heated homes will allow them to keep infecting plants.
Adults are normally green or yellow but turn red when the day lengths shorten in the autumn.
They attack plants by stabbing the underside of the leaves and sucking out the sap. This damage causes a distinctive stippling effect due to the loss of chlorophyll. As their numbers increase, the number of white speckles on the leaf increases and the leaf eventually dies. What makes this pest truly difficult to control is its rate of reproduction. Each female will lay up to 12 eggs per day.