Major mite taxa

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Taxonomy

updated 2025

Common names

prostigmatans, prostigmatic mites

Probability of encounter

very high

Quarantine importance

Very high, all of the major plant parasitic mites belong to the Prostigmata as well as numerous important parasites of people, livestock, pets, wildlife and insects, including the presumed cause of Isle of Wight Disease in honeybees. Many species are free-living predators or fungivores (including some pests in mushroom cultivation).

Diagnosis

Very small (0.08 mm long) to very large (16 mm) mites with a pair of stigmatal openings between the chelicerae or on the anterior margin of the idiosoma, sometimes associated with a chambered peritrematal system; gnathosoma either with the bases of the chelicerae exposed or partially consolidated into a stylophore or fully consolidated into a head-like capsule, capitulum sometimes retracted within the body; palps with 2–5 free segments, without a palp apotele; subcapitulum without a median groove or transverse rows of denticles; flagellate tritosternum absent; coxae fused to body wall, usually plate-like; chelicerae 2-segmented; prodorsum sometimes with 1–2 pairs of trichobothria; intercoxal region without sternal or genital shield elements, genital opening postcoxal; development: +/- hexapod prelarva, hexapod larva and 1–3 usually octopod nymphal stages (protonymph, +/- deutonymph, +/- tritonymph), rarely all stages are quadruped; genital opening develops gradually and sometimes associated with 1–2 pairs of genital papillae; larva sometimes with urstigmata; males sometimes with an aedeagus, never with modified chelicerae; female sperm receiving structures primary or secondary.

Similar taxa

Immature Mesostigmata may be confused with Prostigmata, but the lateral stigmatal openings should be easy to find except in larvae (which lack them).

Ecology and distribution

Cosmopolitan. Although many species are free-living predators or fungivores, many lineages are parasitic on vertebrates and arthropods. Many are phoretic on insects, often as adults and sometimes as specialized phoretomorphs. As far as is known, all prostigmatans are fluid-feeders.

References

• Kethley 1982cKethley 1982c:
  Kethley JB. 1982c. Acariformes. pp. 142–145. In: Parker SP, ed. Synopsis and classification of living organisms, Vol. 2. McGraw-Hill, New York.
• Kethley 1990aKethley 1990a:
  Kethley JB. 1990a. Acarina: Prostigmata (Actinedida). pp. 667–756. In: Dindal DL, ed. Soil biology guide. John Wiley & Sons, Brisbane.
• Krantz 1978Krantz 1978:
  Krantz GW. 1978. A manual of acarology [2nd ed.]. Oregon State University Book Stores, Corvallis.
• Walter and Proctor 1999Walter and Proctor 1999:
  Walter DE, Proctor HC. 1999. Mites: Ecology, evolution and behaviour. University of NSW Press, Sydney and CABI, Wallingford. 494 pp.

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