The Greeley tribune., 1910-07-07
Summer. Treatment for Orchard
Mites

Mites
The first injury from orchard
mites may be seen, and little ef-
fort now will prevent severe injury
to trees and plants later.
The mites are tiny pests which do
their injury by sucking the sap from
the leaves. Their presence may be
detected by the pale, mottled APP
pearance of the foliage upon which |
they have been feeding. These in |
jured leaves will often turn yellow |
very early and drop from the trees |
All the mites are classed with the 1
spiders and not with the insects. An
examination OF "a newly-hatched in
diyidual viii show that only six legs
are present, and at this stage of
their existence they resemble the in
sects more closely than the spiders,
all of which have eight legs. After
the first moult, or shedding of the
skin, a fourth pair of legs is deve-
loped.
There are a great many different
| species of mites which feed upon
plants of various kinds, but the
writer has found only two species
! TO be at all common in western Colo
RADIO. One of these species is known
as the brown mite; the other as the
/ red spider. Both are tiny lite pests,
/ but can easily be seen with naked
I eye If carefully searched for, and
1 both do their injury in exactly the
same way. Both may also be con-
/ trolled by the application of the
| same remedies.
The eggs of the brown mite are
tiny, red, CLASSY objects, spherical in
shape. and may be found on the
limbs of infested trees, for the most
part about the region of the crotch
es. The little mite, when first hatch
ed from the egg and up to the time
when ii first sheds its skin. is
bright red color; afterward it be-
comes olive green, or brown, with
redish head and legs. The eggs of
the red spiders are not req in color.
but white, and are deposited on the
under surface of leaves where they
appear as tiny pearls-so small
that ii takes careful searching to
detect their presence. The mites
that hatch from these eggs are light
green in color, with dark colored
spots on their backs. The adults
are often red, hence the name red
spiders was given to them. This
species has the power of spinning a
: web. and infested leaves will always
have a network OF these webs woven
over their surfaces.
Greenhouse plants are very often
infested with red spiders, and small
fruits such as raspberries, currants,
etc, are frequently injured by them.
Both fruit and shade trees are sub
iect to their attack. Ny observa-
. tions in western Colorado have been
/ that the brown mite 1nfests fruit
trees principally; while in addition
r the red spider may be found on
shade trees, small fruits. and many
! kinds of herbaceous plants. Occa-
5 sionally brown mites have been
, taken upon herbaceous plants. They
seem particularly fond of clover. and
a it is sometimes called the clover
D mite.
, AS a treatment for mites, sulphur
;. probably has no equal 1t may b'
: said that sulphur is death to mites o
: all kinds. Small trees. bush fruits
l. and plants of various kinds may b
= busted with 1t while the large
e trees haze to be sprayed. / hav
= busted small trees very successful,
t with an ordinary bee smoker. Sui
e phur may be applied as a spray b.
: mixing with water in the spray tank
e water. the sulphur will settle to tn,
/, bottom of the tank and can be stir
|, red with the asitator. One pount
n of sulphur to four gallons of waite
= is enough for successful work
i A few orchards in the Grand Val
e ley. where lime and sulphur was no
# used as dormant spray in thu
spring, are found to be badly in
e tested with brown mites at the pre-
o sent time; but in no case has an or
e chard that was sprayed with lime
J. and sulphur been found infested Or
chards which We're not treated will
lime and sulphur in the spring. ant
t which have brown mites on then
now. should be sprayed with sulphur
as soon as possible. so that serious
injury to fruit and trees may be
y averted GEO. p. WELDON.
|. Colorado Agricultural college. Fort
e Collins.