web-spinning mite

8.4

A tiny animal that makes fine webs on plant leaves and eats them

noun
/wɛbˈspɪnɪŋ maɪt/

Specialized

: ácaro productor de telarañas

Gardeners often struggle to control web-spinning mites on their tomato plants during hot, dry weather.

Examples

The rose bushes were infested with web-spinning mites that left a fine silk covering on the leaves.
A magnifying glass revealed dozens of tiny web-spinning mites feeding on the undersides of the leaves.
The web-spinning mite damages crops.
Farmers struggle with web-spinning mites every season.
A magnifying glass revealed dozens of tiny web-spinning mites feeding on the undersides of the leaves.
Gardeners often struggle to control web-spinning mites on their tomato plants during hot, dry weather.
The rose bushes were infested with web-spinning mites that left a fine silk covering on the leaves.

Synonyms

spider mite

vsweb-spinning mite

Specialized

1 6.4

A tiny bug that spins fine webs and feeds on plant leaves

is a broader term for plant feeders that make webs not limited to gardens

tetranychid

vsweb-spinning mite

Specialized

9.9

A tiny mite that spins fine webs and eats leaves of garden and fruit trees

is the common descriptive term not the formal family name

How Harmful

web-spinning mite

Specialized

8.4

mite

27 6.3

Surface Forms

web-spinning mite singular

web-spinning mites plural

Morphology

web-spinning + mite

The noun phrase is compositionally transparent: 'web-spinning' is an adjectival compound (web + spinning) modifying 'mite', so a learner who knows 'web', 'spin' and 'mite' can infer it refers to a mite that produces or spins webs. This follows regular English adjective + noun compounding and is cross-linguistically natural, so the meaning should be immediately accessible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Web-spinning mite is a simple name for a tiny mite spinning a fine web on plant leaves. So, the name means 'a mite that makes webs and harms plants'.