Have you ever encountered the redlegged earth mite?

We want to hear from you!

The redlegged earth mite is one of the most destructive pests in broadacre crops and pastures in southern Australia. We’re calling on growers and advisors to share their experience dealing with the redlegged earth mite to guide future management of this pest.

We’re asking growers and advisors to complete a short redlegged earth mite management survey.

The information gathered from this survey will help to update management recommendations, improving the best management practice advice and resistance management strategies for redlegged earth mite.

Redlegged earth mite. Photo by Andrew Weeks, Cesar Australia

Participation in this survey is voluntary and should take less than 10 minutes. Participants also receive early access to Cesar Australia’s RLEM online training modules.

The initial training module covers:

  • Redlegged earth mite and other pest mite Identification
  • Redlegged earth mite distribution and reporting
  • Host preferences and damage characteristics.

The survey is being led by Cesar Australia as part of the GRDC project “Future control options of RLEM in Australian grain crops”. This project has been extended to red meat producers through co-investment from Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and to pasture seed producers through co-investment from AgriFutures Pasture Seeds Program (PRJ-013101). The wider project involves contributions from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), the University of Melbourne, and CSIRO.

You can read more about the wider redlegged earth mite project here.

For more information please contact:

Dr. Lizzy Lowe: 0413 871 179, llowe@cesaraustralia.com

Leo McGrane: 0475 909 234, lmcgrane@cesaraustralia.com

Cover image: Photo by Cesar Australia

What is Pestfacts south-eastern?

PestFacts south-eastern keeps growers and advisers informed about invertebrate pests and beneficials in broadacre crops and pastures during the winter-cropping season in Victoria and southern New South Wales.

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PestFacts south-eastern is supported by the project ‘Seasonal status of pests delivered to growers’, a GRDC investment delivered by Cesar Australia with in-kind contributions from both partner organisations.

The online PestFacts south-eastern collection also includes a selection of articles published prior to April 2024 when the service was supported by previous GRDC investments, including The National Pest Information Service and IPMforGrains.