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Southern Red Mite

Southern Red Mite

Oligonychus ilicis

Mitealso: Oligonychus ilicis, Red spider mite of hollies

A cool-season spider mite that is the most important mite pest of broad-leaved evergreens such as azalea, holly, camellia, and rhododendron. It feeds on the undersides of leaves and bronzes and stipples the foliage, building up in spring and fall.

🔎 How to spot it

Adults are tiny, about half a millimeter, oval, and purplish to reddish with eight legs, feeding mostly on the undersides of leaves; the overwintering eggs are red and dot the lower leaf surface. Tap a branch over white paper to see the slow-moving mites; faster, longer-legged mites are predators to spare. Stippled, dull, off-color leaves are the first clue.

🥀 Damage it causes

Feeding removes leaf-cell contents, so foliage becomes finely stippled and then bronzed, dull, or grayish, especially on the underside, and heavy infestations cause leaf drop and weaken the plant. Because it is a cool-season mite, the worst damage shows in spring and again in fall.

🛡️ Prevent it

Keep susceptible evergreens healthy and not drought-stressed, and scout the undersides of leaves in early spring and fall when the mite is active, tapping foliage over white paper to catch build-ups early. Look for the red overwintering eggs on leaf undersides from late fall through early spring, and conserve the predatory mites that help hold numbers down.

🧯 If it is already here

Treat when stippling and active mites first appear in the cool seasons: a horticultural oil or insecticidal soap applied to the leaf undersides controls light infestations with little harm to beneficials, and a dormant oil on the egg-laden undersides reduces spring populations. Heavier infestations may need a miticide; avoid carbaryl and other broad insecticides that flare mites by killing their predators.

💡 Good to know

Unlike summer spider mites, this one is active in cool weather and goes dormant in midsummer heat, so spring and fall are the times to scout and treat. Holly, inkberry, azalea, camellia, and rhododendron are the plants to watch most closely.

🌱 Plants it attacks

190 plants in the library can be attacked by this pest

Adzuki BeanAfrican MarigoldAji Amarillo Pepper🍓Albion StrawberryAlice du Pont MandevillaAnaheim PepperAnise HyssopApple MintApril Tryst CamelliaArmenian CucumberArp RosemaryAshwagandhaBanana PepperBecky Shasta DaisyBee BalmBitter MelonBlack BeanBlack Beauty Eggplant🍉Black Diamond WatermelonBlack-eyed Susan VineBlue Lake Green Bean🥒Boston Pickling CucumberBurning BushCalamondinCalibrachoaCannellini BeanCantaloupeCarolina Reaper PepperCasaba MelonCassavaCatnipCayenne PepperCharleston Gray WatermelonChayoteChocolate MintClimbing Prairie RoseColeusCoral Drift Groundcover RoseCranberry BeanCranberry CotoneasterCreeping PhloxCrenshaw MelonCrimson Sweet WatermelonCuban OreganoCubanelle PepperDavid Garden Phlox🥒Diva CucumberDwarf Yaupon HollyEarly Amethyst BeautyberryElderberryEndless Summer Hydrangea🥒English CucumberEnglish ThymeEureka LemonFairy Tale EggplantFanal AstilbeFlamingo Feather CelosiaFordhook 242 Lima BeanFrench MarigoldFrench TarragonFresno PepperGalia MelonGarden SageGarvinea Sweet Glow GerberaGhost PepperGingerGlobe AmaranthGoji BerryGoldflame SpireaGraham Thomas English RoseGrapefruitGreek OreganoGreen Bell PepperHabanero PepperHansa Rugosa RoseHoneoye StrawberryHoneydew MelonHopsHummingbird SummersweetHungarian Wax PepperIceberg Floribunda RoseIndigo Rose TomatoInkberryItalian EggplantItalian Flat-Leaf Parsley🌿Italian OreganoIvy GourdJackmanii ClematisJalapeño PepperJapanese EggplantJapanese HollyJicama🍉Jubilee WatermelonJune-Bearing StrawberryKaren AzaleaKentucky Wonder Pole BeanKey LimeKidney BeanKirby CucumberKnock Out Rose

For educational and informational purposes only. Pest control advice is general guidance drawn from university cooperative extension sources; always identify a pest positively and read and follow the label on any product before use, especially around food crops, children, and pets.