Spider Mites Damage Spider Mites Damage to Holly Of several species, spider mites are important pests of ornamental plants. Spider mites are general feeders and, when many different kinds of plants are unthrifty, a more detailed search should be made to discover if the spider mite is present. One of the more common is the two-spotted spider mite, which may be found in almost every garden. Outdoors, mites hibernate as adults in the soil, on tree bark, and on leaves. In greenhouses, overwintering survival is no problem.
Spider mites are small.
They are mere specks when seen crawling on the undersurface of leaves. Young mites are six-legged. After two periods of molting and resting, they become adults and have eight legs. Generations may be completed in 5 to 40 days.