Gorse Mite

Mite (Gorse) Tetranychus lintearius

I was out walking along the Dry Creek at Kilmore East today. It generally is a dry creek but after the recent rains, there is now a string of waterholes which follow the creek line.

The area is a mixture of farming land with a large area given over to blue gums. Between the train line and the blue gums runs the creek. It is a narrow corridor of black and other wattles, furze bushes, chinese scrub  and small eucalypts.

The wattle are blooming at present as are the furze bushes.

The furze, or gorse bushes are covered in masses of what looks like dense spider webs. However there are no spiders. It looks quite beautiful, like Christmas snow on conifers. When I look closer I can see a red stain through parts of this. More closely I can see what looks like red saw dust, very fine.

It's time to look at my references. I'll let the Friends Of Te Henui, New Zealand tell you all about it. You can read the whole story at their wonderfully detailed site.  http://www.terrain.net.nz/friends-of-te-henui-group/spiders/gorse-spider-mite.html

Photo by Friends of Te Henui  

Mite (Gorse) Tetranychus lintearius

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Subclass: Acari
Superorder: Acariformes
Order: Prostigmata
Family: Tetranychidae
Genus: Tetranychus
Species: T. lintearius
Binomial name: Tetranychus lintearius
Common Name : Gorse spider mite

Tetranychus lintearius is a species of spider mite known as the gorse spider mite. It was imported from England 1988 as an agent of biological pest control on common gorse, a noxious weed. The adult mite is half a millimetre long and bright red. It lives in colonies in a shelter of spun silk spanning many branch tips. Infested plants are easily identifiable by these cobweb-like sheets of silk, which can grow quite large. The female lays one to four eggs per day during her three- to four-week adult lifespan. The tiny nymph is small enough to disperse on the wind during its first stage. Those that stay behind populate the colony as it expands. This mite is native to Europe, where it does more damage to the plant than any other organism. The mite appears to be host-specific; it does not attack any other plants. The adult and nymph damage the plant by piercing its tissues during feeding. Heavy mite activity reduces flowering and can stunt the development of the branches but does not kill the plant. 

Photo by Friends of Te Henui