Blue oat mite

Blue oat mites are major agricultural pests of southern Australia, attacking various pasture, vegetable and crop plants. Adult blue oat mites are 1 mm in length and approximately 0.7-0.8 mm wide, with 8 red-orange legs. They have a blue-black coloured body with a characteristic red mark on their back. Mites are active in the cool wet part of the year, usually between April and late October. During this time they pass through two or three generations, with each generation lasting eight to ten weeks.