MACRO Problems! GMO mites attack.

http://www.koppert.nl/nieuws-pers/koppert-nieuws-archief/detail/macro-mite-even-more-effective-2/

As things go, a mite was developed to take on pests. As things go, it doesn't always go as planned...

Invasive Species

For the past few years, here in Michigan, I have been called upon to help with a pest issue. Upon inspection we discover a mite that is fast, preditory, and seemingly harmless. The issue here, there are no other pests...what that means from what I understand, is they are surviving on each other, and reproducing at rapid rates without any other food source. As quickly as these have been treated, they rebound seemingly immune to the previous control method. As population reaches millions, plants fail, lockout, and issues begin that appear systemic.

A few experiments have put things into perspective for me, and may raise your eyebrows as well.. For instance: When attempting to pick up a piece of perlite covered with these mites, they swarm your fingers and reach your hand about the time you drop it. They do not cling too well however, they are much like a tick in that they are difficult to crush though not impossible." A hellofa beast to most its size."
Another, a similar piece of material covered in mites was dropped in 29% Commercial grade H202..THE MITES CRAWLED OUT...

Intentional attack on the cannabis industry?
Could these mites have been engineered to be a systemic virus carrier?
Could these have evolved to be a greater pest than ever thought?

May these mites now be carriers of disease regardless of intent?

This my friends, is a "Macro" problem in MI gardens, and likely elsewhere. Please post any related articles, information, or experience. Thankyou.

BEWARE THE KROPPERT MACRO MITE INVASION.

Hi Woodsman! gmo-monsanto-type bugs, yikes. perhaps that is a Borg 2.0 that you describe. I'm not an experts on mites, but always on the lookout...


vigilant scouting in the garden for such critters can keep us one step ahead. if the ground-zero plant is identified and quarantined, then we have a good chance to curb the population. it also seems the healthier the garden gets the less buggers get any kind of foothold.

we can't 100% control em, but we can manage em..
ipm- integrated pest management

This is scary.

I'm still not convinced this isnt the mite epidemic we see all over the place. a couple well known spots ended up verifying BROAD mites and everyone else just assumed this was the case. I've seen some weird things happen in some gardens these last couple years that looked mosaic'ish and broad mite ish and just plain ole weird. probably not a conspiracy from monsanto or anything but id be willing to bet these mites are in alot more peoples gardens then we know.

and real quick.... does it not seem amazing to anyone that this organism's population seems to grow extremely fast while feeding on ITSELF????? wtf? since when is cannabalism and good way to BUILD energy. wouldn't they slowly wane the population down not getting energy from outside sources? they gotta be eating some other kind of micro organism or getting energy from somewhere isnt it physics 101?

Anyone wanting samples to test, let me know.

I'll post an image that I have taken with a 40x.

The "modification" of an organism to meet the requirements of a so called desired trait, is nothing new to science. Hybridization occurs naturally and through controlled breeding projects etc. (dogs)

Something that feeds on its young and perpetuates is also not uncommon in the world of animals and organisms. (guppies, mice, countless insects, even apex predators such as lions, or bear)

As crazy as it my sound, its not out of the question, anything new or unusual for science really, and would only echo so many other bad choices to "control" or curb another biological or environmental issue, with an organism not native to the introduced territory. I wrote several articles while at UAF regarding invasive species, and encouraged the state of Alaska to take up protective measures by writing officials in the state and senate.

Michigan is quite lax on many fronts, and over bering on others. Regardless however, laws don't stop invasive species, they typically make folks aware of an existing problem. Regardless of intent, organisms adapt and change with environmental differences. They become something, "unintended", when introduced to a foreign environment that it did not evolve within.

If you are not aware of Florida's reptile problem, and the consequent hybridization of sepreate species, maybe review the known cases of other animals or plants that have seen the same fate. (Bears, commercial crop pests, kudzu, etc etc.)

I am not certain, but will be soon.

WMT

I don't think (I sincerely hope) that this is not a malicious and deliberate attack on the marijuana industry.

I think that these super bugs, like others, are a product of our own design. I think that aggressive bug killers and pesticides used poorly or repetitively will encourage certain advantageous adaptations on behalf of the bugs.

We all know how evolution works, that one bug that doesn't get killed when you apply anti-pest measures will multiply and there we have it. That, coupled with short generation and reproduction cycles means that we have quite a formidable enemy on our hands.

Not only is this a call for better ways to deal with these creatures, but a public health awareness crisis as well. One must make sure to eradicate all if one is to eradicate any. If not, those left behind will be better adapted to deal with us trying to off them.

This is similar to the struggles with superbugs and antibiotics...

@woodsmantoker, thanks for bringing attention to this!

I doubt there is some conspiracy regarding super mites. Just seems a tad over the top. Mites are everywhere, even some on one's skin as you read this. Mites also have been around a long ass time, and adapt rather quickly if they are not destroyed completely. It doesn't help we over use pesticides at alarming rates (I suppose I've been part of the problem having used pesticides to kill the fuckers). Best practices just need to be in place to avoid getting them in the first place. Then one should exhaust every option prior to pesticide application and it should be used as directed. It's like antibiotics resistance.

These are predator mites.
They do not attack the plant. No systemic will work.
They withstand %29 H2O2.
They withstand Bayer Complete at triple the highest recommended dose.

So it's like xmen, we're dealing with mutants

Is there any line of defense that seems effective against these predatory mites?

I hope I never see them in my garden, gives me shivers...

Do you know the exact species of predatory mites you have: Phytoseiulus Persimilis, Mesoseiulus Longipes, Neoseiulus Californicus or Galendromus Occdientalis? Or is it the Macrocheles Robustulus (Macro-Mite) referred to in your initial post? I wonder how all these beast would fare in a cage match? Have you tried spraying them with Isopropyl alcohol?

That 40x pic would be cool to see Woods.

I have quite a population of mites in my worm bins, and by extension in my plant containers. The ones I have aren't a problem. They're part of the soil food web. My only concern is that they don't out-compete my worms for food, but aside from that they are fine. You could try laying down some melon rind on the top of your containers and see if they will gather on that, then rinse the rind off and repeat, or discard the rind and lay down a new one. This is how I keep the mite population in check in my worm bins.

I had mites in my worm bin also. It was too damp. I added a thick layer of coco to soak up the moisture and sprinked some Diatomaceous earth on it and they are mostly gone. I just try to keep it a lot dryer in there now. About a month from my first harvest of castings.

I too have pondered on the origins of this sudden mite epidemic, if Monsanto comes out with a cure-all, mite safe plant or treatment soon then you know they had something to do with it.

However there is another concern and frightening possibility. Foreign Predatory mites.

I see countless individuals speaking on buying mites to kill there mites....? Wait what!?? You serious? Placing thousands of tiny reproducing organisms in an environment they do not typically reside in is nothing short of wreck-less. What are the chances the broad mite was a predatory mite someone purchased to combat spider mites, was brought into an ideal environment free of substantial predators enabling it to adapt and evolve into this horrible seemingly uncontrollable phenomena we have today. I find it frightening that people are using the method of inviting foreign mites, think of the small islands and atolls that were free of rats until the coming of ships long ago, now some being devote of native tree palms and suffering from destabilized biodiversity, look below at the effects of Mongoose on Hawaiian ecosystems, and the overall severity of invasive species world wide. If it happens in the Animal world you can bet it happens in the insect world. I think we all need to chill out and stop panicking our way into solutions that potentially bring more problems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_species_in_Hawaii

http://www.issg.org/database/species/reference_files/musmus/Bell.pdf