Identification support for mites in the family Tenuipalpidae

Flat mites (Acari: Trombidiformes: Tetranychoidea: Tenuipalpidae) are one of the most economically significant of all acarine groups. All species are phytophagous and the species that have been identified as pests have shown the potential to cause severe economic damage to a variety of commodities. They cause damage directly through feeding on host plant tissue and indirectly through the transmission of plant viruses. 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. The tool also includes information on slide mounting distortions you may see, and how that can affect interpretations of flat mite morphology, as well as a discussion of why DIC microscopy can be more informative when examining flat mites than phase contrast microscopy.