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Mite groups covered

This tool covers these nine groups of mites. Find descriptions of each group below.

Major mite taxa

introduction

key

fact sheets

Exotic mite families

introduction

key

fact sheets

Endeostigmata and Sphaerolichida

introduction

key

fact sheets

Mesostigmata (Monogynaspida)

introduction

key

fact sheets

Phytoseiulus

 

key

fact sheets

Stratiolaelaps

  

key

fact sheets

Bryobiinae

introduction

key

fact sheets

Tetranychinae

introduction

key

fact sheets

Major mite taxa

Major mite taxa covers major groups of taxa at order, suborder, infraorder, hyporder, and superfamily levels; three of the covered taxa, the order Mesostigmata, suborder Endeostigmata, and superfamily Eriophyoidea, are also represented in this tool with their own fact sheets and keys to subtaxa.

Also within this group are:

  • the acarine orders Opilioacarida, Holothyrida, and Ixodida
  • all three suborders of Mesostigmata (Sejida, Trigynaspida, and Monogynaspida)
  • the sarcoptiform suborder Endeostigmata
  • four infraorders, three hyporders, and one specialized dispersal stagestage:
    a distinct developmental form, e.g., the egg, larval, nymphal and adult stages.  Since mite instars are usually morphologically distinct, they are also stages (and see stase).  Some authors, however, insist that instar should be apolysis to apolysis and stage ecdysis to ecdysis.  Since apolysis can be a discontinuous process and, in any case, is difficult to determine, in practice the difference between a stage and an instar is abstract and of importance only if you have a contentious referee.
     (the astigmatid heteromorphic deutonymphdeutonymph:
    (also deuteronymph) the second nymphal stage or instar.
    ) of Oribatida (including the brachypylinebrachypyline:
    having separate genital and anal plates surrounded by a large ventral plate (composed of aggenital and adanal elements); usage usually restricted to traditional oribatid mites (see macropyline).
     oribatid mites) 
  • the trombidiform suborder Sphaerolichida
  • three infraorders, two hyporders, and one superfamily of Prostigmata
     

Exotic mite taxa

This section covers the plant-feeding mite families, subfamilies, and genera of most interest to quarantine.

Here's the taxonomy of the fifteen taxa in this section, all of which are underlined.

Superorder Acariformes
Order Trombidiformes
Suborder Prostigmata
Eupodoidea
Penthaleidae—redlegged earth mites, green pea mites, blue oat mites, winter grain mites
Penthaleus
Penthalodidae
Halotydeus
Tetranychoidea - spider mites, false spider mites, peacock mites and their relatives
Tuckerellidae—peacock mites
Allochaetophoridae
Linotetranidae— cryptic false spider mites
Tenuipalpidae—false spider mites, flat mites
Tetranychidae, Bryobiinae—clover, brown & legume mites
Tetranychidae, Tetranychinae—the true spider mites
TarsonemoideaTarsonemoidea:
(also Tarsonemina) a superfamily within Prostigmata > infraorder Eleutherengona > hyporder Heterostigmata consisting of two families: Tarsonemidae and Podapolipidae.
Tarsonemidae—broad mite, tropical mite, cyclamen mite (also tracheal mites and some pests of mushroom cultures)
Order Sarcoptiformes
Suborder Endeostigmata
Eriophyoidea - gall, big bud, erinose and rust mitesrust mite:
leaf vagrant forms of the Eriophyoidea whose feeding causes a russet coloration on leaves.
Phytoptidae
Eriophyidae
Diptilomiopidae
Suborder Oribatida
Acaroidea
Acaridae
Rhizoglyphus
Tyrophagus

Bryobiinae

A genus-level treatment of this subfamily, which is in the superfamily Tetranychoidea

Tetranychinae

A genus-level treatment of this subfamily, which is in the superfamily Tetranychoidea

Eriophyoidea

This section is a genus-level treatment of the superfamily Eriophyoidea. It is a large superfamily with over 350 genera (Klimov et al. 2018Klimov et al. 2018:
Klimov PB, OConnor BM, Chetverikov PE, Bolton SJ, Pepato AR, Mortazavi AL, Tolstikov AV, Bauchan GR, Ochoa R. 2018. Comprehensive phylogeny of acariform mites (Acariformes) provides insights on the origin of the four-legged mites (Eriophyoidea), a long branch. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 119: 105–117.), many of which are known from only a few records, are unrecognizable, or are associated with wild plants. Here we have included 65 of the most economically important genera based on the list from (Lindquist and Amrine 1996Lindquist and Amrine 1996:
Lindquist EE, Amrine JW. 1996. 1.1.2 Systematics, diagnoses for major taxa, and keys to families and genera with species on plants of economic importance, In: Lindquist, E.E., Sabelis, M.W., Bruin, J. (Eds.) World Crop Pests. Elsevier, pp. 33–87.).

Mesostigmata (Monogynaspida)

This section covers mesostigmatic mites of quarantine concern likely to be found in intercepts, treated at the family, subfamily, and genus levels.

About one-quarter of all mite species belong to the Mesostigmata, including many economically important pests (e.g., varroa mite of bees, fowl mites, rat mites) and even more economically useful biocontrol agents (especially in the families Phytoseiidae, Laelapidae and Macrochelidae). Because of their pervasiveness, mesostigmatans are commonly found in quarantine inspections, but primarily because few are plant parasites, there are few taxonomic specialists to help in their identification. The key and fact sheets are designed to support the identification of members of the largest suborder of Mesostigmata, the Monogynaspida (see Major mite taxa to identify Mesostigmata to suborder). Monogynaspids are the mesostigmatans most likely to be found in a quarantine intercept and the Monogynaspida contains all of the economically important species. Two of the covered taxa are the genera Phytoseiulus and Stratiolaelaps.

Phytoseiulus

A species level treatment of this genus in the order Mesostigmata

Stratiolaelaps

A species level treatment of this genus in the order Mesostigmata

Endeostigmata and Sphaerolichida

This section covers genera (which are commonly misidentified) and one family within the early-branching acariform mite groups Endeostigmata and Sphaerolichida. Endeostigmatans (excluding Eriophyoidea*) are common in many habitats, but seem to reach their highest abundances in extreme habitats such as deserts, beaches, and polar regions. As far as is known, these mites are fungivores, algivores and predators on small invertebrates such as nematodes, tardigrades, and mites. None are considered economically important pests. They are most likely to be intercepted in goods containing soil, especially dry soils including sand, lichens, mosses or other materials associated with dry or otherwise extreme habitats, including anthropogenic accumulations of dust.

* Eriophyoidea has recently (Bolton et al. 2017Bolton et al. 2017:
Bolton SJ, Chetverikov PE, Klompen H. 2017. Morphological support for a clade comprising two vermiform mite lineages: Eriophyoidea (Acariformes) and Nematalycidae (Acariformes). Systematic & Applied Acarology 22, 1096–1131.) been reclassified into the suborder Endeostigmata. The original scope of this Endeostigmata section (developed around 2006), therefore, did not cover taxa within Eriophyoidea; previously, Eriophyoidea were classified under Trombidiformes (Zhang 2011Zhang 2011:
Zhang Z-Q. 2011. Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness. Zootaxa, 3148: 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3148.1.2). See more about this classification (last paragraph).

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