Neoseiulus californicus

$75.00 USD

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Size X-Small — Up to 10 Six-Inch Plants — 500 Mites Small — Up to 20 Six-Inch Plants — 1,000 Mites Medium — Up to 50 Six-Inch Plants — 2,500 Mites Large — Up to 100 Six-Inch Plants — 5,000 Mites X-Large — Up to 200 Six-Inch Plants — 10,000 Mites 2X-Large — Up to 400 Six-Inch Plants — 20,000 Mites 3X-Large — Up to 500 Six-Inch Plants — 25,000 Mites

Neoseiulus californicus is a hardy, aggressive predatory mite specifically adapted for hot, dry environments. While many beneficials require high humidity to survive, Californicus is the "survivalist" of the mite world. It is a specialized hunter of Spider Mites, but it is also a patient generalist that can stay on your plants for weeks without a primary food source.

Scientific Name: Neoseiulus californicus
Primary Target: Two-Spotted Spider Mites.
Secondary Targets: Broad Mites and Cyclamen Mites.
Key Advantage: Exceptional tolerance for low humidity and high temperatures. That is what keeps it working in summer greenhouses and indoor grow tents with intense lighting.

Field Notes

Neoseiulus californicus

The beneficial

Species

Neoseiulus californicus

Type

Predatory mite — a specialist hunter of spider mites that eats like a generalist

Size

Microscopic, 0.5mm, and pale orange to tan. Masters of hiding: they scatter to the undersides of the leaves immediately on release

How it works

Pierces through light webbing to reach eggs, larvae and adults. It can sit on a plant for weeks with almost nothing to eat and still be there when the mites return

Adult lifespan

About 20 days. With food — mites or pollen — they lay eggs and carry on

What it eats

Hunts

Two-spotted spider mites, at every life stage — eggs, larvae and adults. This is what it is for

Best against

A confirmed spider mite outbreak where you need a high concentration of specialists in one area, and hot dry rooms — summer greenhouses and grow tents under intense lighting, or humidity below 60%

Also eats

Broad mites and cyclamen mites — a bonus rather than a reason to buy. If broad mites are the problem, cucumeris is the one with the record

Eats opportunistically

Pollen and other small insects, which is what lets it hold on a plant with no pest pressure at all — blooming stock included

Won't touch

Russet and hemp russet mites — those are eriophyids and a different job. Amblyseius andersoni is the predator there

What arrives

Format

Bottle of loose mites through a vermiculite carrier, mixed stages. Under half a millimetre and pale, so a bottle that appears to be nothing but grit is a bottle working exactly as intended

Role

Instant release of a large population, for a confirmed active infestation. The sachets are the slow-release preventative version

Ships as

Loose mites

Where it works

Optimal temp

50F to 95F. Active and reproductive even when temperatures spike during mid-day heat

Humidity

Performs best at 50% to 60% RH, and much more resilient to dry air — as low as 40% RH — than other predatory mite species

Light

Not sensitive to day length. Effective in both 18/6 and 12/12 light cycles

Establishes

Yes. It stays on the plant after the spider mites are gone instead of starving out, holding on pollen, which is what makes it a long-term preventative shield

Running it

Deploy

The same day it arrives — there is no holding option. Rotate the bottle end-over-end for 30 seconds first, so the mites are distributed through the carrier and not all in the bottom third

Placement

Dusted onto foliage, undersides included, heaviest on the stippled or lightly webbed leaves, then a light dusting over the rest of the garden as a perimeter against spread. For plants with resinous flowers, hanging release boxes keep the carrier off the crop

Replace

Every 3 to 4 weeks preventatively; every 14 days against an active infestation, until the pest population crashes. Repeat within two weeks if the population was already established when you released

Refrigerate

No. If you must wait, keep the bottle horizontal in a cool dark place at 55F to 60F

Compatible with

Orius or Cucumeris for a multi-layered IPM strategy, and Persimilis where you are fighting visible webbing and need the knockdown — Californicus stays on as the residual

Keep separate from

Sulfur — 21 days, and fatal to every predatory mite in the catalogue. And heavy webbing: no predator navigates it easily, so remove or wash off the thick webs before release

Chemical interval

Neem and horticultural oil kill on contact and leave nothing behind once dry. Insecticidal soap needs a day before release. Sulfur is 21 days. After release, avoid spraying for 14 days while the population establishes

Safe around

Humans, dogs, cats and other animals

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Country/region

Neoseiulus californicus

Neoseiulus californicus

Neoseiulus californicus