The upper surface of the leaves becomes stippled with little dots that are the feeding punctures. Silk webbing produced by these mites is usually visible. The leaves eventually become bleached and discolored and may fall off. The carmine spider mite normally completes a life cycle from egg to adult in about a week. All stages of this mite are present throughput the year.
Reproduction is most favorable when the weather is hot and dry.
EGGS Eggs are spherical, shiny, straw colored, and hatch in 3 days. They are laid singly on the underside of the leaf surface or attached to the silken webs spun by the adults. This stage lasts a short time, perhaps a day. There are two nymphal stages, the protonymph and deutonymph. The nymphal stage differs from the larval stage by being slightly larger, reddish or greenish, and having 4 pairs of legs.