The following nymphal stages and the adult have four pairs of legs. The twospotted spider mite was originally described from European specimens. It is considered to be a temperate zone species, but it is also found in the subtropical regions. It is found throughout the USA in greenhouses where it survives the winters beyond its natural limits. The female is about 0.4 mm in length with an elliptical body that bears 12 pairs of dorsal setae.
Overwintering females are orange to orange-red.
Since the spots are accumulation of body wastes, newly molted mites may lack the spots. The male is elliptical with the caudal end tapering and smaller than the female. The axis of knob of aedeagus is parallel or forming a small angle with axis of shaft. Twospotted mite male aedeagus twospotted mites Life Cycle Spider mite development differs somewhat between species, but a typical life cycle is as follows. The eggs are attached to fine silk webbing and hatch in approximately three days.