Red Spider Mite - Eggs ?

Just checking on our overwintering Steptocarpus and some did not look that happy; on looking under the leaves with a strong magnifier could just see something not normal.

Have one of those little USB microscopes on the PC and, as below, looks like a load of little red eggs, nothing moving and all look totally egg shaped, no legs etc, which we assume will be RSM ? Though no signs of any adults alive or dead ?

Seems the microscope will work with the mobile phone so will see if we can spot any signs of these eggs on other plants in the greenhouse...

 

Hi

Amazing photo.. but I havnt a clue

Spruce

 

Just checked all the other plants, mainly Fuchsias, and they seem clear of such eggs, but all our Streps have them and just given them a spray with one of the soap based RSM sprays which may stop them hatching out ?

Apart from 2 or 3 Streps which are growing well and in flower, thinking the rest might be dumped as last year they all suffered from root mealy bug and took most of the summer to recover and still not looking that good.

 

TBH I've not seen them at that magnification before, but the eggs are, in my experience, usually white, they almost look very similar to the predators that you can buy as a RSM control.
RSM appear to be pale yellow at this time of year.

Also, I have never had RSM on streptocarpus but like you I do find mealy bug the biggest problem and I'm using Bug Clear vine weevil killer as a soil drench and touch wood it appears to be working.

 

Oh, @pete don't say I've been treating the good guys eggs ??

Could make out their colour with a hand magnifier in the greenhouse but not the detail, thats why we took a leaf sample inside and used the usb microscope that we got last year following someones post last year.

Have looked on the web and as you say most pics show a clear / slightly yellow colour eggs, though they do say the mites can be various colours, wonder if these eggs are red because they are about to hatch ? They are in the heated area with the orchids, though nothing on the orchids.

Yes, mealy bug, the root type has been a problem, though again by mistake we have imported a load into the greenhouse. When we tried to dig out some divisions from some pots of overwintering Alstromeras they had quite a few root mealies.

Did try various products/methods last year on the Steps, but like you find Bug clear Ultra VW most effective, though quiet expensive.
You can buy the Ultra hand sprays which are 0.05g/ltr strength, the concentrate is 5g/ltr, but thats to kill the VW, so wonder if we could increase its dilution when drenching for mealies ? would have thought it would be easier, more effective and economic to completely drench them ?

 

I'm not saying they definitely are the RSM predators as usually, I found, they dont hang around once the RSM are gone, and especially in winter.

Have you ever used them as I dont think they naturally occur in the UK and they have a shine to them which RSM dont have.

RSM eggs usually have at least some webbing with them, which shows up best with a light spraying of water, I had to spray some of my Plumerias last week as they were starting to build up around the leaf midrib and some mottling of the leaves was starting to show.

As I say, I've never had RSM on the Streptocarpus the leaves are hairy and with the shady conditions I grow them in I think its more of a deterrent and not your usual RSM type conditions.

All I can say is that they dont look like RSM eggs to me, but other than that I'm as in the dark about those little orange blobs as you are.

If the drench doesn't work on the mealy bugs I can only suggest trying leaf cuttings of mealy bug free material and discarding the old plants.

 

Spider Mites
Have a look here.

 

Have never used any biological predators and take your point about their leaves being too hairy for the RSM.

Looking at sites like Dibleys they do not show RSM as a pest on Streps, though there are Tarsonemid mites aka cyclamen mites which are very similar but again their eggs are clear like the RSM .

Will take a leaf sample and store it in a sealed container to see if anything does hatchout despite them being sprayed.