Huge mites on Cyclamen

[Darren]

When I got back off holiday I noticed this damage to Cyclamen under the bench in the glasshouse. It is most obvious on the africanum at the far end but has also spread to the persicum next to it.  The upper surface of the leaves are dotted with very big mites (over 1mm long - you can see them even in the distant picture) with dark bodies and red legs. They move quite fast which led me to think they were predators feeding on a possible earlier infestation of red spider mite. I have not seen any sign of red spider however and have to assume it was these (note the past tense) big chaps doing the damage. Given how mobile they were I find this quite worrying. Anyone any ideas on ID?

[Diane Clement]

Darren it does look like red spider damage, but I wonder if these might be Bryobia mites.  I had an infestation on C purpurascens a few years ago, and I sent off a leaf to Trevor Wiltshire who at that time was at Wisley and he got the resident entymologist to confirm it was Bryobia sp.

The following link shows a picture of the Bryobia mite
http://agspsrv34.agric.wa.gov.au/ento/pestweb/Images/4.jpg

I was advised to use Bifenthrin or Provado Ultimate Bug Killer which you need to spray the leaves top and bottom.  The problem was that the leaves showed the damage for a full year before they were renewed. 

The following picture shows the damage on my plant

[Darren]

Looks very like it Diane - thank you. Some oil-based organic Vitax jollop sorted them out. Leaves have had it but thankfully about to die back for summer anyway!