SPIDERMITE DESTROYERS FACT SHEET & Release Instructions

Spider-mite destroyers are very efficient locators of spider mite colonies in greenhouse and field crops. Actually tiny ladybugs, spider-mite destroyers earn their keep by eating more than 40 mites per day as adults. Use these predators in addition to spider-mite predators (predatory mites) when spider-mite populations are especially high. Spider-mite destroyers eat all stages of spider-mites, and find new infestation sites on their own by flying. Life cycle (from egg to adult) takes about 18 days at 70°F., with a total lifespan of perhaps 9 weeks. As adults, female spider-mite destroyers lay up to 15 eggs per day.

100 spider-mite destroyers is enough to get a colony of them started in an average home greenhouse, as they'll breed from there. Spider-mite destroyers are too new to have established preferred temperature ranges, but they're known to survive temperatures over 100°F in field crops.

Release adult beetles into mite infested areas and look for signs of reproduction (larvae, pupae, and adults) after four weeks. This predator is more mobile than spider-mite predators (predatory mites) but takes longer to establish, so releases of spider-mite predators should also be made into mite infested areas.

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