can you identify if this is a spider mite or predator?

Hi folks,

Well this morning I found out my balcony was full of those little bugs. They were wandering all around and were perfectly visible. whenever I crushed them, it would leave a nice red trail.
Now my question is, I took a pic with my macro lens and it gives this.
i have seen that a natural predator of spider mites is called Phytoseiulus persimilis and very very much resembles what is on the pic.

Those spiders are no more than1-1,5 mm long but are well visible naked eye unlike what it says in some websites about spidermites only being visible through magnifying glasses.


So is this a spidermite or not?

Regards

I think its just a little red bug. 5mm long is too big for a spidermite, do the leaves have white/yellow streaks or patches on top?

looks like a tic to me. lol

Not a spidermite.

gosh, they are cute though

Red spider mites ARE visible with the naked eye. I found some on the top of my leaves before and had to treat my plants. I found this from google of a red spider mite:



Looks a lot like the pic you've taken!

EDIT: Also, I found the mites before I found actual damage to my leaves, so it's possible to find them before plants become infested / damaged if you catch them early enough.

I am betting on predatory mites, esp. if your plants don't show prbs. (i.e., stop killing them)

I caught two of them on my plants this morning and were actually on the leaf not below. The leaves are not infested.
Last week I saw a plant on my balcony had small yellow patches and looked with a lens......clearly yellow spider mites with eggs all around and smaller than those red bugs
My plant got spray shocked a week ago so I don't dare give it anything for the moment

Preditor mites are actual mites, spider mites are spiders!!!! That picture is indeed a MALE red spidermite, There are 3 varieties of preditermites, usually they are sold in a mix to better guarantee your preditors will thrive and establish themselfs in your grow. This is why there is a old rule of thumb about growing indoors. Don't take your plants outside. When you move your plants from indooors to outdoors and back again you bring with it everything that atacked it outside. I dont even like useing prepared soil mixes unless I have heat treated it at 300 deg first, for two hours!!!! Last year I had a spider mite prob two spotted mites, almost as bad as the red ones, not as many webs. I ordered and realesed 1500 preditors in my bloom. This saved the bloom, but as soon as I was harvested The work began. 2 months later, and a lot of repeditive cleaning, bleaching, shit canning clones, veg plants, and mylar, yes mylar, they disappered. No more mites at last had to start over from seed.

If you are looking for an imeadiate treatment for mites and mite damaged leaves, look at "cali-clean" made with habeneroes everything claimed about this simple recipe is in fact correct. It greens those leaves back up, and kills dead the mites, on contact, this causes NO burn and you can treat everyday if you want, to kill those hatching eggs before they breed. P.S the recipe is right here on the forum one of the most usefull bits of advice I've found here! look under (bugs) .

Wow....
I have those very same bugs on my tomatoes...I thought they were aphids, as only some of them are red...they seem to start out green, and as they get larger they turn red...as least the bugs on my tomatoes do...

they seem to hang about on the blooms and topmost parts of the plants, I don't see any sort of leaf damage...but I know that sevin dust doesn't kill them...they don't even seem to mind it...

missnu said:

Wow....
I have those very same bugs on my tomatoes...I thought they were aphids, as only some of them are red...they seem to start out green, and as they get larger they turn red...as least the bugs on my tomatoes do...

they seem to hang about on the blooms and topmost parts of the plants, I don't see any sort of leaf damage...but I know that sevin dust doesn't kill them...they don't even seem to mind it...

Click to expand...

what ya got on your tomatoes are in fact aphids, they come in many colours including lil green ones, big fat pink ones, and little black winged ones. even if you kill em all they will continue to infest off the wind. heres your solution:

in a saucepan on the stove, simmer

3 cups water
a large handful of peppermint leaves and stems
6 cloves fresh garlic finely minced (no powdered garlic! it doesnt work and clogs your sprayer!)
3 tablespoons (or more) cayenne pepper flakes

simmer for 45 minutes strain through a cloth (piece of old T-shirt works good) let cool and pour into sprayer add 1 tablespoon biodegradable dish soap, top off sprayer with water put on a dust mask and ski goggles (super important) and SPRAY EVERYWHERE!
wash hands thoroughly with soap before touching eyes mouth genitals or butthole (really really hot stuff)

it's non toxic (just spicy as hell) and washes off with water easily do not use on your buds unless you're a masochist. wash any produce before eating. and seriously, wash hands with soap before wiping your ass or holding your dick.

once a week will keep aphids slugs snails and whiteflies in check like a motherfucker.

Warning: may attract Hispanic, Thai, and Punjabi cuisine aficionados. do not store near salsa fixins or noodles and shrimp.