Color of the mites is variable ranging from white to light red. The eggs of the mites appear like small clear or pale marbles when viewed through a good hand lens. The twospotted spider mite is widely distributed and a common pest of orchards and nursery plants. When environmental conditions are hot and dry - such as during a drought, spider mites multiply rapidly and become a pest of fields crops such as corn, soybeans and cotton.
Initial infestations tend to occur in fields bordering clover fields or grassy areas.
Field perimeters and corners tend to exhibit the earliest symptoms of infestation. Dispersal over a wide area occurs when spider mites are carried on a balloon of their webbing by the wind. The major crop affected during periods of draught by spider mites in the Midwest is soybeans. Spider mites feed on the underside of the foliage with sucking moth parts and may be very destructive when abundant. Under hot and dry field conditions, spider mites thrive on plants that are under stress.