Linden spider mite

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Linden spider mite
Systematics
Order : Trombidiformes
Subordination : Prostigmata
Superfamily : Tetranychoidea
Family : Spider mites (Tetranychidae)
Genre : Eotetranychus
Type : Linden spider mite
Scientific name
Eotetranychus tiliarium
( Hermann , 1804)

The linden spider mite ( Eotetranychus tiliarium ) belongs to the family of spider mites (Tetranychidae). Although these mites are only a fraction of a millimeter in size, they are easy to identify because of their eye-catching color and the webs they spin.

Appearance

Individual linden spider mites can hardly be seen with the naked eye. Magnifying glasses with ten to twenty times magnification are sufficient to see the animals well. The linden spider mite is yellowish in spring, but orange in summer and has red eyes.

behavior

The females overwinter as imago in protected places such as cracks in the bark. Warm and dry years in particular seem to encourage mass reproduction of the linden spider mite.

Damage

The linden spider mite mainly attacks linden trees . Infested trees often show yellow-brown, dirty discolored leaves as early as May or June, which also soon begin to fall. If the infestation is very strong, the trees can be completely defoliated by July. The winter lime tree ( Tilia cordata ) is more heavily infested than other linden tree species in Central Europe . Infested trees are weakened and therefore susceptible to other diseases, but usually do not die due to an infestation by the linden spider mite, but rather recover in years with little or negligible infestation.

Linden trees on roadsides and in cities are particularly susceptible to the spider mite. They often show mass infestation and the leaves are covered with tightly woven webs. The mass reproduction seems to be favored on the one hand by the increased nutrient and salt content of the sap of trees along the streets and by the increased temperatures in urban areas, and on the other hand to be dependent on the composition of the predatory mite populations in this habitat. Less effective predators from the Phytoseiidae family replace Paraseiulus soleiger in urban areas, which can keep the mass infestation of trees by the linden spider mite within limits thanks to its short development time and high reproduction rate in near-natural areas. Linden trees that are dense undergrowth seem to be much less susceptible.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Danuta Kropczynska, M. Van De Vrie, Anna Tomczyk: Bionomics of Eotetranychus tiliarium and its phytoseiid predators. In: Experimental & Applied Acarology. Vol. 5, No. 1/2, 1988, pp. 65-81, doi : 10.1007 / BF02053818 .

literature

  • Gerald W. Krantz, David E. Walter (Eds.): A Manual of Acarology. 3rd edition. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock TX 2009, ISBN 978-0-89672-620-8 .

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