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.
Varroa is a genus of parasitic mesostigmatan mites associated with honey bees, placed in its own family, Varroidae. The genus was named for Marcus Terentius Varro, a Roman scholar and beekeeper. The condition of a honeybee colony being infested with Varroa mites is called varroosis.
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.
Tydeidae is a family of acariform mites. As of 2016, it contained over 300 species in three subfamilies, though more species have been discovered since then.
The International Journal of Acarology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of agricultural, aquatic, general, medical, and veterinary acarology. Topics covered include mite and tick behavior, biochemistry, biology, biological pest control, ecology, evolution, morphology, physiology, systematics, and taxonomy. The journal was established in 1975 by Vikram Prasad. It was published by India Publishing House until 2008, when it was acquired by Taylor & Francis.
Histiostoma is a genus of mites in the family Histiostomatidae.
The Laelapidae are a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata. The family is also referred to in the literature as Laelaptidae, which may be the correct spelling.
Dermanyssoidea is a superfamily of mites, including most of the mites which parasitise vertebrates.
Schwiebea is a genus of mites in the family Acaridae. It is among the largest in the family with over 60 species.
Tropilaelaps is a genus of parasitic mites in the family Laelapidae. Their range spans the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Their primary hosts are the larva of Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa, although after Apis mellifera was imported to Asia, they were found to also be suitable hosts for two species of Tropilaelaps, T. clareae and T. mercedesae. Species can be identified by DNA analysis. They are considered a major economic threat to the beekeeping industry.
Euvarroa wongsirii is a species of bee mite native to Southeast Asia. It can be found in areas ranging from southern China to the Palawan Island of the Philippines and lives alongside Euvarroa sinhai a different bee mite species of the same genus Euvarroa . E. wongsirii is a parasite, which lives on bees, using them as a food source. This mite has been found almost exclusively in the bee Apis andreniformis in Thailand.
Blattisociidae is a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata.
Galumna pseudokhoii is a species of mite first found in Cát Tiên National Park, Vietnam, in dark loam in a Lagerstroemia forest. This species is very similar in the location and morphology of notogastral areae porosae, rostral morphology, lamellar and interlamellar setae, lamellar lines locations, and incomplete dorsosejugal suture to Galumna khoii, differing in body size, sensilli morphology, and the number of genital setae on the anterior parts of its genital plates.
Phenopelopidae is a family of oribatid mites in the order Sarcoptiformes. As of 2018, there were 4 genera and 106 species known in this family.
Stigmaeidae is a family of prostigmatan mites in the order Trombidiformes. At over 600 species, it is the largest family in superfamily Raphignathoidea. It has a worldwide distribution.
Roubikia is a genus of bee-associated mites occurring in the neotropics. They are mutualists or commensals, and feed on fatty acids from floral oils and most likely on fungi. The type species is Chaetodactylus panamensis.
Schizosthetus lyriformis is a species of mite in the family Parasitidae that feeds of bark beetle larvae and eggs. The species was discovered in 1996 by McGraw and Farrier. Schizosthetus lyriformis is strongly associated with bark beetles, with a geographic range matching that of their most common hosts.
Wolfgang Siegfried Karg (1927–2016) was an East German entomologist who specialised in mites (Acari).
Melicharidae is a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata.
Varroa rindereri is an external parasitic mite that feeds on honey bees. The only known honey bee species it feeds on is Apis koschevnikovi
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