European red mite
Insect
European red mite
Panonychus ulmi (Koch)
Acari: Tetranychidae
Distribution: Widespread and a major pest in most fruit-growing states and provinces in eastern North America.
The adult female is dark red and has silky hairs on its back borne on raised whitish tubercules (A). The male is smaller, lighter in color, and has a pointed abdomen (B). The mites feed mainly on the undersurface of the leaves. Eggs are red and are laid principally on the underside of leaves. Overwintering eggs are darker in color, and are laid between mid-August and the beginning of October on spurs, in bark crevices (C) and in the fruit calyx.