Mites prefer hot and dry foliage and will not thrive when the leaves are wet.

The gravel noises ended, but the dry foliage of the desolate lawn was thick and loud.

A soaker hose two hours a day will provide enough water and keep the foliage dry and free of powdery mildew.

The nesting site is a slight depression in the ground, sometimes lined with a few pieces of dry foliage.

The problem is usually red spider, a tiny mite that thrives on dry foliage.

It spread through the dry foliage, crackling and popping, growing until it became a sustained roar, like an oncoming train.

These mites thrive on dry foliage and in high heat.

"We could see 30 miles of flatlands out there, broken by pods and dry, dead foliage," Ms. Bloomenstein said.

The dry foliage rasped across the hood and roof, like the claws of a beast determined to get inside.

Carotenes are also responsible for the orange (but not all of the yellow) colours in dry foliage.