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Spider mites are pests in warm or cool weather

Spider mites are common pests in the garden and can cause damage to trees, shrubs, vegetables and flowers. Spider mites are not insects but are related to ticks and spiders. These arachnids have eight legs, no antennae and an oval body.

Spider mites can be yellow, green, orange, purple, black or nearly transparent. Mites are tiny -- about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. Spider mites tend to be warm or cool weather pests depending on the specific species. With the hot weather we have had, warm weather species may be flourishing in your garden.

The spider mites' common name comes from their ability to spin silk which is produced from a pair of glands near the mouth. The silk strands allow the mites to travel from infested to non-infested leaves and to be blown by the wind to new plants. When the silk is plentiful it may help shield mites from pesticide sprays.

Development time from egg to adult varies from five to 21 days depending on the mite species and the weather. First-stage larvae have only six legs, but after molting, they become eight-legged nymphs. Both larvae and nymphs resemble the adults. Adult females can live for several weeks and lay dozens of eggs which is why populations can rapidly increase and cause serious plant damage in a short time. Plants suffering from water stress are also highly susceptible to infestations.

Spider mites feed by piercing the leaves of plants with their needle-like mouthparts. They then suck out the cell contents which causes the leaves to have a stippled or sandblasted appearance.

On heavily infested plants, the foliage will become bronzed, bleached, yellow, or gray and leaves may drop off as feeding continues. Often leaves, twigs and fruit are covered with webbing. Severely infested plants may be stunted or even killed. Damage may be worse when the plant is under stress.

Early detection of spider mites is important in order to control them. Unfortunately you usually notice the plant damage or webbing first as mites are tiny. Most mites feed on the undersides of leaves, although the damage is evident from the top. Check the undersides of leaves for mites, eggs or webbing. They can be detected by shaking the foliage over a sheet of white paper. When disturbed, mites move around rapidly so look for tiny moving dots. Control may be needed if 10 or more mites are seen per sample. When scouting for spider mites, pay attention to plants that have a history of mite problems as they often re-infest the same plants year after year.

Siblings - Janet Hill Studio Blog ·

Nothing fills me with more fear than when I have to paint a child.  Children are strange creatures with very large heads and extremely soft underdeveloped features.  I rarely ever do commissioned portrait work mainly because of a horrible experience that I had several years ago when a client asked me to paint her three sons.  They were cute, the client was nice and the photo that I had was pretty decent so I happily went off and worked on it for about a month.  When the unveiling came, the look of disappointment on her face made my knees buckle.  It was their heads she explained- they were too big.  I took a look at the photo and compared it to the painting and explained that it was exactly the same proportioning.  She agreed, but had assumed that  I would have corrected their imperfection.  But then they would look like little men.  We have never spoken since.

I should mention that I based Greer on my niece Leanna and there is a good chance that perhaps when my brother and sister-in-law see this they might have a problem with the size of her head as well.

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