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Key to genera of Tenuipalpidae
This key enables the user to identify any known genus of flat mite from around the world.
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Key to species of Brevipalpus
This key enables the user to identify commonly intercepted species of Brevipalpus from around the world.
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Key to species of Raoiella
This key enables the user to identify all known species of Raoiella in addition to some new species from Australia.
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- Fact Sheets
- Glossary
- Gallery
Flat Mites of the World
Flat Mites of the World provides a portal to a variety of keys, images, and fact sheets to help support identification of this diverse, potentially destructive group of mites.
About flat mites
Flat mites range from 250 microns to 400 microns in size, with a diversity of body shapes. The group varies a great deal in color also, with variations on red being the most common.
Is it a flat mite?
The morphological characters used to identify the genera and species of the family Tenuipalpidae include the number of setae on the body and the shape and type of setae.
Slide mounted mites
A flat mite looks very different alive under a stereoscope compared to after it has been squashed flat and slide mounted. Often the 3D shape of the mite is lost in the process.
Microscopy for mites
When dealing with mites, we are interested mainly in the morphology of surface structures, and DIC offers better interpretation of these features than phase contrast does.