Welly's nature spot - tiny red spiders on the path

[Welly]

Have you noticed hundreds of these tiny red "spiders" on concrete paths/brick walls/window cills this year? I've been trying to find out what they are, and what they do, but they seem to be a bit of a mistery!

They leave little red dots of "blood" if you happen to squash one and they seem to like sunny spots and bright concrete areas etc.

Just seems to be an epidemic of them this year have you noticed?

Oh and my 12 year old son likes to burn them and hear them sizzle with his magnifying glass in the sun

.../normal service will be resumed soon.

[steve_earwig]

Red spider mite. Next!

[Welly]

I have read about the red spider mite (although I don't seem to see them on any plants) but also there is a lot of discussion on gardening forums about the red velvet mite (deadly ).

A bit of confusion between a mite and a spider! weird things though.

[Eric]

I remember "popping" those when I was a nipper at school.
In my defence there seemed to be so many at the time I didn't think squishing a few for the pretty colours would damage the ecology too much

[steve_earwig]

Pah, I reckon anything that could potentially attack my fruit and veg is fair game.

I nuked a few dozen of these yesterday:

Colorado beetle larvae - I dunno what I sprayed on them, the only bit I could actually make out on the packet was the skull and crossbones...

[Welly]

Awww - and they're so cute too

[Blue406]

Oh and my 12 year old son likes to burn them and hear them sizzle with his magnifying glass in the sun

Mini-Welts, the terrible!

[steve_earwig]

Awww - and they're so cute too

They look even cuter waiving their legs in the air as they die horribly. Disgusting little red bloated f*ckers, they'd pretty much destroyed one of my spuds before I spotted them .

[Welly]

they'd pretty much destroyed one of my spuds before I spotted them .

You wanna get that seen too mate

[steve_earwig]

Me and Hitler...

I just had a quick squint at my spuds ( ) and they're all shrivelled up black and red bogies. All together now: ahhhhhhhhhhh

[Welly]

Daren't ask if you've got any prunes out there

[steve_earwig]

Plenty of plums! It's what they make the brandy out of.

[Eric]

Pah, I reckon anything that could potentially attack my fruit and veg is fair game.

I nuked a few dozen of these yesterday:

Colorado beetle larvae - I dunno what I sprayed on them, the only bit I could actually make out on the packet was the skull and crossbones...

Colorado beetles here have to be reported to the police
They'll wipe out crops in no time, they have been eradicated from the UK now.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Release ... 7/05141531
http://www.nonnativespecies.org/01_Fact ... 0000011165

See not making it up, they are a quarantine hazard in the UK.
When I was on my Aunties farm in Switzerland picking potatoes there were millions of them, the farm didn't care they had too many spuds anyway

[steve_earwig]

I've seen stuff like that all my life so it's not something new. It was quite strange to finally see them in the US but they didn't seem to do much, so I was a bit peeved when one of my plants suddenly looked like a brown doily. Thinking about it, I could have picked the buggers off and squished them, saving spraying unknown substances about, but I wasn't sure if I'd come out one day soon and find the whole lot infested. I dunno, it's the first time I've grown spuds here so it's a bit of an experiment, if I grown them again next year I'll try the organic way and see.

I wonder if they'd actually survive the Bristish climate, maybe they can swim...

Wiki spud bug.

[Eric]

I've seen stuff like that all my life so it's not something new. It was quite strange to finally see them in the US but they didn't seem to do much, so I was a bit peeved when one of my plants suddenly looked like a brown doily. Thinking about it, I could have picked the buggers off and squished them, saving spraying unknown substances about, but I wasn't sure if I'd come out one day soon and find the whole lot infested. I dunno, it's the first time I've grown spuds here so it's a bit of an experiment, if I grown them again next year I'll try the organic way and see.

I wonder if they'd actually survive the Bristish climate, maybe they can swim...

Wiki spud bug.

Not been an outbreak here since 77.
So I don't think they've mastered swimming yet

The joys of living on an island.
Good defence.
No Rabies.
No Colorado beetles