How do I tell the difference between spider mites and predatory mites?
Spider mites are usually yellowish with dark spots on their backs. They are humped-shaped and hairy and scary . . . well, scary only if it was a horror movie and they were our size. They hold their front two sets of legs toward the front of the body, and the back two sets towards the back of the body. They tend to hang out on the underside of the plant leaves or in protected areas of the plant. The predatory mites are clear to whitish to orange in color (depends on what they have been feeding on). They are tear-dropped shaped and often use their front set of legs as sensors by lifting them into the air. An adult, female spider mite (females are usually larger than males in the mite world) can be larger than an adult, female predatory mite, but the predatory mites do not care – they will attack a spider mite that is larger them themselves by inserting their straw-like head into the spider mite body, then releasing digestive enzymes, and then feeding on the dying spider mite. In the labo
