I have 5 seedlings in the corner of my bathroom. This morning I go to check on them & they look beautiful. The growth from last night to this morning was astonishing. They're all a vibrant green & they look healthy. Upon further examination, I noticed a small web looking line going from a cotyledon to a true leaf. I immediately checked under the small leaves for spider mites, but found nothing. There is no movement on the leaves. I held a styrofoam cup under & I tapped the leaves, but nothing fell in the cup. Last night I noticed an all black beetle looking bug. It was about the size of an ant. There was one in two different solo cups. I killed both of them before realizing they probably were not harming my plant, but possibly protecting it.. They look great, there's no damage to the leaves.. But that definitely looked like some sort of silk web-line.. Do I have spider mites? I'll be picking up neem oil Wednesday.
This insect sounds too large to be a spider mite, it's probably some other small insect. Could be harmless, could be a thrip, or anything. If there's a single thread going from one leaf to another, that could be a genuine spider thread. Spider mites tend to form a very fine mesh on the leaves themselves, not single threads between leaves. Taking preventative action with the neem is a good idea. Where did you get your soil from that it's potentially got so many bugs in it?
Thanks for the quick reply! I know that the beetle like bug wasn't a spider mite but I was wondering if it was there to eat the spider mites. I thought it was a thrip but when I looked at it closer It was too small/round to be a thrip.. I think it was just a beetle. I'm glad to hear that's it's probably not a spider mite who made the little web!