A pest is any organism harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environment for their own purposes and are intolerant of other creatures occupying the same space when their activities impact adversely on human objectives. Thus, an elephant is unobjectionable in its natural habitat but a pest when it tramples crops.
Galls or cecidia are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or warts in animals. They can be caused by various parasites, from viruses, fungi and bacteria, to other plants, insects and mites. Plant galls are often highly organized structures so that the cause of the gall can often be determined without the actual agent being identified. This applies particularly to insect and mite plant galls. The study of plant galls is known as cecidology.
The spined soldier bug is a species of stink bug common in North America. They are predators of gypsy moth caterpillars and the larvae of beetles such as the Colorado potato beetle and the Mexican bean beetle. Since the Mexican bean beetle is widely regarded as a notorious agricultural pest in North America, soldier bugs are generally considered to be beneficial garden insects.
Phlaeothripidae is a family of thrips with hundreds of genera. They are the only extant family of the suborder Tubulifera, alongside the extinct family Rohrthripidae and are themselves ordered into two subfamilies, the Idolothripinae with 80 genera, and the Phlaeothripinae with almost 400. Some 3,400 species are recognised in this family, and many are fungivores living in the tropics.
The Phytoseiidae are a family of mites which feed on thrips and other mite species. They are often used as a biological control agent for managing mite pests. Because of their usefulness as biological control agents, interest in Phytoseiidae has steadily increased over the past century. Public awareness of the biological control potential of invertebrates has been growing, though mainly in the US and Europe. In 1950, there were 34 known species. Today, there are 2,731 documented species organized in 90 genera and three subfamilies.
Abacarus hystrix, the cereal rust mite or grain rust mite, belongs to the family Eriophyidae. They are extremely small with adults measuring up to 1 millimetre in length and only have four legs at the front of the body. Viewing by the human eye requires a 10 – 20X lens. The adult mites are usually yellow but also have been seen to be white or orange. The cereal rust mite was first found on Elymus repens, a very common perennial grass species. It has now been found on more than 60 grass species including oats, barley, wheat and ryegrass, found in Europe, North America, South Africa and Australia. Mites migrate primarily through wind movement and are usually found on the highest basal sections of the top two leaf blades. Abacarus hystrix produces up to twenty overlapping generations per year in South Australian perennial pastures, indicating that the species breeds quite rapidly. It has been noted that the cereal rust mite can cause losses in yield of up to 30-70%.
Aceria chondrillae is a gall-forming deuterogynous eriophyid mite. It is often used as a biological control of the noxious weed Chondrilla juncea, a highly competitive herbaceous perennial composite found in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America.
Chondrilla juncea is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by a number of common names, including rush skeletonweed, gum succory, devil's grass, and nakedweed. The plant is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but it is known throughout most temperate regions of the world as an introduced species which is usually considered a noxious weed.
Amynothrips andersoni is a species of thrips known as alligator weed thrips. It has been used as an agent of biological pest control against the noxious aquatic plant known as alligator weed.
Aceria malherbae is a species of gall mite known as the bindweed gall mite. It is used as an agent of biological pest control on invasive species of bindweed, particularly field bindweed.
Aceria is a genus of mites belonging to the family Eriophyidae, the gall mites. These tiny animals are parasites of plants. Several species can cause blistering and galls, including erineum galls. A few are economically significant pests, while others are useful as agents of biological pest control of invasive plants such as rush skeletonweed, creeping thistle, and field bindweed.
Aceria guerreronis, the coconut mite, is an eriophyid mite which infests coconut plantations. It is economically devastating, and can destroy up to 60% of coconut production. The immature nuts are infested and injured by mites feeding in the portion covered by the perianth of the immature nut.
Eriophyes is a genus of acari that forms galls, specially on trees of the family Rosaceae. Some are called blister mites. The blue butterfly Celastrina serotina has been reported to feed on these galls and also on the mites, making it one of the uncommon carnivorous Lepidoptera.
Aceria anthocoptes, also known as the russet mite, rust mite, thistle mite or the Canada thistle mite, is a species of mite that belongs to the family Eriophyidae. It was first described by Alfred Nalepa in 1892.
Eriophyes tulipae, commonly known as the dry bulb mite, is a species of mite in the genus Eriophyes. This mite feeds on members of the lily family, and has damaged garlic crops. At one time, it was also thought to feed on wheat and other grasses, but the wheat curl mite is now regarded as a different species, Aceria tosichella.
Eriophyes cerasicrumena, the black cherry leaf gall mite, is a species of gall mite in the family Eriophyidae. This species was formerly a member of the genus Phytoptus. They produce galls on black cherry plants. Caterpillars of cherry gall azure feed on these galls, and apparently also on the mites themselves.
Acalitus calycophthirus is an eriophyid mite which causes big bud galls on birch twigs. It is found in Europe and was first described by the Austrian zoologist, Alfred Nalepa in 1891.
Aceria campestricola, is a species of mite in the family Eriophyidae. The mite causes galls on the leaves of elms and was described by Georg Ritter von Frauenfeld in 1865.
Aceria fraxini, the ash bead gall mite, is a species of mites in the family Eriophyidae, the gall mites.
Aceria cynodoniensis, the bermudagrass mite, is widely distributed, but only infests bermudagrass and its hybrids. It lives and develops under the leaf sheaths of its host plant. Infestations of the mite can cause destructive damage to bermudagrass turf and it is often regarded as a harmful pest.
