Host plants and damage
The broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus, infests plants of ca. 55 dicotyledone and 2 monocotyledone families. The pest attacks indoors and outdoors vegetables like tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, beans and potatos; ornamentals such as gerbera, and numerous fruit trees, e.g. lemon, citrus and papaya. As more commonly the broad mite feeds on the lower sides of the leaves, they become bronzed with down-curling margins. Buds are aborted, flowers distorted, shoots grow twisted and fruit may become malformed and russeted. Injury symptoms, presumably due to toxins, occur even after the broad mite has been eliminated.

Life History and general biology
Eggs of the broad mite are deposited usually on the lower surfaces of young apical leaves and in flowers. The egg is elongate-oval, its upper surface covered with rows of whitish hemispherical projections whereas its flat base is firmly appressed to the plant substrate. At 25°C and 90-100% relative humidity the egg hatches after 2 days. The emerging larva feeds for ca. one day and molts. Pharate (pre-emerged) females remain for another day within their larval skins from which they subsequently emerge. Complete development thus requires about 5 days at 25°C. Hence many generations (20-30) may annually be raised in tropical and sub-tropical regions.
Males appear first and locate the pharate females. Each male places the female at a right angle on its dorsum and carries the female, usually upwards, towards the plant's apical parts. Mating occurs immediately after female emergence. Under warm conditions, males and females may survive for about one week and beyond.
The broad mite reproduces best under fairly mild and humid conditions, with population growth being highest at 25°C. Average fecundity is usually around 40 eggs/mated female.
Dispersal of broad mites is effected through various means. Within infected plants the pest moves upwards by male carriage of pharate females. Mites reach uninfested plants by winds, by phoresis on plant-feeding insects such as whiteflies and by human transfer of infested plants.

Reduction in field populations of the broad mite is generally attributed to: deterioration of leaf and fruit quality due to overexploitation by the pest, various climatic factors such as temperature, humidity and precipitation and natural enemies.