How Do You Identify European Red Mites On Fruit Trees?
Your fruit trees leaves are looking bronzed and webbed and you’re wondering what could possibly be wrong with them. The most likely culprit affecting your fruit trees is the European red mite. Here is how to identify its nasty presence on your fruit trees so you can control them. Learn to identify what the European red mite looks like. The adult female is brick red with white “hairs” and spots on her back while the male is a lighter color and a bit more slender than the female. Look in places the European red mite normally lays their eggs. This includes eggs laid in the roughened bark in the bases of smaller branches, buds and spurs. During the summer, you’ll find these onion-shaped eggs on the underside of leaves. Watch for typical European red mite leaf damage. This includes yellowing or bronzing of leaves as the red mite uses its tongue to suck out the chlorophyll in the fruit trees leaves. Keep an eye on older foliage. It will gradually turn bronze-yellow, then dry out and fall off
