The basil plant was in a 4 inch pot, bought at Whole Foods, transplanted into 1 gallon pot of sifted garden soil bought from local nursery. I water mostly with rain water.
When you zoom in on the dark spots, they look like some kind of algae or fungus.
Looks like spider mite damage.
Thank you, I believe you are correct.
I dunno. All the spider mites I have seen have created some webs, and you can see the little boogers moving around on their webs. No webs or spider mites visible here.
ZM
In the absence of webs they are most likely false spider mites. Greenhouse grown plants favor both but once outdoors the problem may or may not resolve. I would treat with something food safe.
