Steve, I think that's what they call a Velvet Ant, it's a wingless wasp. Spider Mites don't have stingers, and even if they did they're way too small to penetrate human skin. They have mouth parts similar to regular spiders but use them to rasp the surface of the plant and then they suck up the juices. The tiny stipple spots are where they've scratched and sucked up the plant juice. A close up of the Two Spotted Spider Mite. This is a common one, but they're many kinds. And how they look to the naked eye, up close. You can see the fine webbing with mites crawling on it. They're the tiny dots. It does look fairly different than regular spider webs. And here you can see the stipple spotted damage on a leaf; This is a pretty bad case on a lemon tree. The webbing, the tiny mites and the stippling can all be seen here. If you click on the pics, most will show it as a larger picture.

Oh whew...I am so relieved to read that nobody thinks they are spider mite webs. Whew, whew!! Is there some definitive way to determine mite webs vs spider webs? Thanks TJ. You are right. And I haven't sprayed a thing, good or bad, in the last 15 years with the mentality of "come what may" but this yard has been trying. I have never seen so many good and bad bugs in my life...and in the last month resorted to BT to kill the hornworms that are decimating my tomatoes and since I'm spraying anyway, I bought the neem which I'd read up on here. It appeared to be pretty innocuous overall, so that I used along one fence where most of my succulents live in light shade and dappled sun--that's the area where both of these photos were taken. None of it was sprayed on my edible or flowering plants, as I read that neem can damage blossoms... The only thing I have consistently used except when I lived in SF was snail bait and they seem to be having quite the blast anyway this year. Jean, we sure do! I can't confirm my neighbor ID'd what she saw correctly but upon hearing that and about two minutes before I ordered neem, lol, I did google it and Japanese Beetles were spotted in the Sacramento area, right above me, per the CA Dept of Ag. I only read one article but that was close enough for me! Ken, my spiders are year round, I'm afraid. January has much less than the other months but there is no month where I can't find spiders crawling on my plants or webbing here and there. Come spring, there's virtually no plant I can't find a spider on or at least evidence of some spider having been on it. That said, I still find it really bizarre that at this yard, for the first time ever in my gardening life, I have not seen ONE aphid. Spiders are not predators of aphids, are they? I've never seen a ladybug here either..probably because there are no aphids. Not complaining but I find it so bizarre! Thanks again, folks!

Hey guys. After zooming in on that first picture I'm thinking its roots. But any other ideas would be welcome. I've never really dealt with any infestation. I live on a 3rd floor so maybe that is too high for these little bugs to reach.

Susanne - Do the leaves look like this? The brown speck is dirt. I noticed that a few of the leaves have a light white dusting. Not sure if it's just dust or something else. I also noticed this morning that there were spider webs. The last several months I've had problems with house spiders so initially I thought it was just my usual spider problem, but now I am wondering if it's a case of spider mites. Here are photos of the webs on the key lime. I've been having problems with the key lime plants. The lemons are fine, but I'm not sure if it's because they are are so much larger than the key limes.