Mites are small arachnids. Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as each other's closest relative within Arachnida, rendering the group non-monophyletic. Most mites are tiny, less than 1 mm (0.04 in) in length, and have a simple, unsegmented body plan. The small size of most species makes them easily overlooked; some species live in water, many live in soil as decomposers, others live on plants, sometimes creating galls, while others are predators or parasites. This last type includes the commercially destructive Varroa parasite of honey bees, as well as scabies mites of humans. Most species are harmless to humans, but a few are associated with allergies or may transmit diseases.
Apteropanorpidae is a family of wingless scorpionflies containing a single genus, Apteropanorpa, with four named species. These species, also called Tasmanian snow scorpionflies, are found in moss in Tasmania and southern Australia. The adults are generalised predators. The larvae live in moss and are locally common.
The Acariformes, also known as the Actinotrichida, are the more diverse of the two superorders of mites. Over 32,000 described species are found in 351 families, with an estimated total of 440,000 to 929,000 species, including undescribed species.
Apteropanorpa tasmanica, the Tasmanian snow scorpionfly, is a species of wingless scorpionfly native to Tasmania. The adults are generalised predators. The larvae live in moss and are locally common.
Smarididae is a family of mites belonging to the order Trombidiformes. These large predatory mites have long oval bodies, distinctively pointed in front. They are usually red and densely hairy with slender legs, sometimes very long. They have either one or two pairs of eyes.
Erythraeus is a genus of mites belonging to the family Erythraeidae. These are large red mites with two pairs of eyes and long legs.
Erythraeus munsteri is a species of mite belonging to the family Erythraeidae. This is a large, oval red mite with a body length of up to 1.5 mm. It has two pairs of eyes and long, slender legs. This mite can easily be distinguished from closely related species by the extraordinarily long, blackish setae which cover the body and legs.
Balaustium is a genus of mites belonging to the family Erythraeidae. These are large red mites with one or two pairs of eyes set well back on the body.
Balaustium medicagoense is a species of mite belonging to the family Erythraeidae. This large, densely hairy mite is up to 1.6 mm in length with one pair of eyes set well back on the body. The first pair of legs is just longer than the body.
Balaustium bipilum is a species of mite belonging to the family Erythraeidae. This long-oval shaped, sparsely hairy orange mite is less than 1 mm in length with one pair of eyes set well back on the body. It can be distinguished from similar species by the crista projecting forward beyond the margin of the body and the clear suture dividing the upper abdomen. This species is endemic to South Africa.
Balaustium cristatum is a species of mite belonging to the family Erythraeidae. This oval mite is only known from immature specimens: the eight-legged nymph is around 0.75 mm in length and moderately hairy with two pairs of eyes and all legs shorter than the body. The six-legged larva is only around 0.5 mm in length and sparsely hairy with one pair of eyes and the third pair of legs longer than the body.
Balaustium graminum is a species of mite belonging to the family Erythraeidae. This mite is very closely related to and similar to Balaustium medicagoense but has two pairs of eyes and is less densely hairy.
Leptus is a genus of large mites belonging to the family Erythraeidae; they resemble members of the related genus Balaustium, but can be distinguished by the eyes, which in Leptus species are set much further forward on the body than in Balaustium species.
Leptus intermedius is a species of mite belonging to the family Erythraeidae. This is a large, oval mite with a total length of 1.7 mm. The body is densely hairy and there is one pair of eyes. The fourth pair of legs is longer than the body. This species has been recorded only in the Bathurst area of South Africa.
Prostigmata is a suborder of mites belonging to the order Trombidiformes, which contains the "sucking" members of the "true mites" (Acariformes).
Leptus pozzoicus is a species of mite. It is named after Porto Pozzo, near Santa Teresa Gallura, the place where the species was first collected. L. pozzoicus belongs to the group of species with two palpgenualae, and that have over four setae between coxalae II and III. It differs from its cogenerate species by various length measurements.
Allothrombium polikarpi is a species of mite belonging to the family Trombidiidae, first described from Greece.
Cunaxidae is a family of predatory mites in the order Trombidiformes. There are at least 20 genera and 390 described species in Cunaxidae.
Pyemotidae is a family of mostly parasitic mites that feed on the larvae and other developmental stages of various insects but some species are herbivorous or fungivorous.
Leptus trimaculatus is a species of mite in the Erythraeidae family, first described in 1794 by Pietro Rossi as Trombidium trimaculatus.
