Spider mites move more and feed less if a predatory mite is near. The oviposition life stage occurs as the female spider mites age. Oviposition requires approximately one minute of resting. On clean leaves, a network of webbing is often formed on the midrib before egg laying. Juvenile predatory mites, like the spider mites, move less than the adults.
Juveniles have lower energy requirements and feed fewer times than adults do.
It takes a juvenile four times as long to eat a prey egg as for an adult. Predatory mites spend more time resting and less time feeding than spider mites. It should be noted that in the presence of abundant prey, time is not the limiting factor on consumption. A predatory mite could consume twenty times more than it does with the time allowed. D.C. Allocating time between feeding, resting and moving by the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae and its predator Phytoseiulus persimilis .