What is the overwintering stage of spruce spider mites?

What is the overwintering stage of spruce spider mites?

• A. Eggs at base of needles.
• B. Adults under bark
• C. Nymphs on leaf undersides
• D. Pupae in soil dust pockets

Answer: (A)

Spruce spider mites overwinter as eggs. Females lay eggs at the base of needles or inside tight bud scales on the spruce, and these eggs remain dormant through winter. When spring arrives and temperatures rise, the eggs hatch and the first mobile stage (larvae) begins feeding on new growth. This egg stage is protected by being tucked into plant tissue, which is why it serves as the overwintering form. The other options don’t fit because mites don’t have a pupal stage, so a pupal stage in soil dust pockets isn’t part of their life cycle. And the adults or nymphs listed are active life stages encountered during the growing season, not the wintering form.

Spruce spider mites overwinter as eggs. Females lay eggs at the base of needles or inside tight bud scales on the spruce, and these eggs remain dormant through winter. When spring arrives and temperatures rise, the eggs hatch and the first mobile stage (larvae) begins feeding on new growth. This egg stage is protected by being tucked into plant tissue, which is why it serves as the overwintering form.

The other options don’t fit because mites don’t have a pupal stage, so a pupal stage in soil dust pockets isn’t part of their life cycle. And the adults or nymphs listed are active life stages encountered during the growing season, not the wintering form.