Trombidiidae

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Trombidiidae
Temporal range: Palaeogene–present
Trombidium.spec.1706.jpg
Trombidium sp.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Trombidiformes
Superfamily: Trombidioidea
Family: Trombidiidae
Leach, 1815 [1]

Trombidiidae, also known as red velvet mites, true velvet mites, [2] or rain bugs, are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) found in plant litter and are known for their bright red color.

Contents

While adults are typically no more than 4 mm (0.16 in) in length, some species can grow larger and the largest, including the African Dinothrombium tinctorum and Indian Trombidium grandissimum , may exceed 12 mm (0.47 in). [2] [3] [4] This also makes them the largest mites, if disregarding ticks engorged after feeding; [5] unlike those, D. tinctorum and T. grandissimum are harmless to humans. [3] [4]

Their life pattern is in stages similar to other members of the Prostigmata: egg, pre-larva, larva, protonymph, deutonymph, tritonymph and adult (male or female). They usually have only one breeding cycle per year. [6]

They are active predators as grown adults. As larvae they are often parasites of insects [7] and other arachnids. [8] This lifestyle is typical of the Parasitengona. [9]

One well-known species from Europe, Asia, and North Africa is Trombidium holosericeum . [10] The systematics of this group has been in flux and many former subfamilies of this are now raised to families within the Trombidioidea. [6] [11]

List of genera

According to Joanna Makol [12]

Human use

Dry Trombidium in a Chhattisgarh market Trombidium.jpg
Dry Trombidium in a Chhattisgarh market

The oil from the red velvet mite Trombidium grandissimum is used in traditional Indian medicine to treat paralysis. [13] [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zicman Feider</span>

Zicman Feider (1903–1979) was a Jewish Romanian acarologist. His name as a researcher is associated with the Acari a.k.a. Acarina, for which he worked to perfect their taxonomy.

<i>Balaustium</i> Genus of mites

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.

Raphignathoidea is a superfamily of the Acari (mite) order Trombidiformes, comprising 1087 species in 62 genera and 12 families.

<i>Neotrombicula</i> Genus of mites

Neotrombicula is a genus of mites in the family Trombiculidae. Species of this genus are found throughout Europe and North America.

<i>Trombidium holosericeum</i> Species of mite

Trombidium holosericeum is a species of mite in the genus Trombidium. It occurs in Europe, Asia, and Africa and is commonly confused with other red mite species.

<i>Trombidium</i> Genus of mites

Trombidium is a genus of mite with about 30 described species.

Trombidium southcotti is a species of mite in the genus Trombidium in the family Trombidiidae. It is found in Iran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parasitengona</span> Group of mites

Parasitengona is a group of mites, variously ranked as a hyporder or a cohort, between the taxonomic ranks of order and family.

Abrolophus marinensis is a species of mite belonging to the family Erythraeidae. It is named after the Marine de Farimore, Corsica, where the species was first collected. A. marinensis differs from its cogenerate species in its palptarsus having 2 setae with a tufty tip. It particularly differs from Abrolophus longicollis in its shorter length measurements.

Charletonia cuglierensis is a species of mite belonging to the family Erythraeidae, so named after its type locality. C. cuglierensis belongs to the group of species which possess two setae between coxae II and III. It differs from its cogenerate species by length measurements. It was first found in Sardinia, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of Cuglieri.

Abrolophus mirabelae is a species of mite belonging to the family Erythraeidae. It belongs to the group of species that have comb-like setae.

Erythraeus berninensis is a species of mite belonging to the family Erythraeidae. It belongs to the group of species that has a basifemoral, setal formula 3-3-3.

Allothrombium polikarpi is a species of mite belonging to the family Trombidiidae, first described from Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neotrombidiidae</span> Family of mites

Neotrombidiidae is a family of velvet mites and chiggers in the order Trombidiformes. There are at least four genera in Neotrombidiidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tetranychoidea</span> Superfamily of mites

Tetranychoidea is a superfamily of mites in the order Trombidiformes. There are about 5 families and more than 2,200 described species in Tetranychoidea.

<i>Abrolophus</i> Genus of mites

Abrolophus is a genus of mites in the family Erythraeidae, first described in 1891 by Antonio Berlese.

<i>Allothrombium</i> Genus of mites

Allothrombium is a genus of mites belonging to the family Trombidiidae.

<i>Dinothrombium</i> Genus of mites

Dinothrombium is a genus of mites belonging to the family Trombidiidae, which are commonly known as red velvet mites. As suggested by the name, Dinothrombium are covered in fine hairs and they are bright red, sometimes with markings in paler colors. Their bright colours appear to be aposematic, hinting at their unpleasant taste and smell. They are generally fairly large for their family and the African D. tinctorum, where adults typically are 12–14 mm (0.47–0.55 in), is one of the largest known species of red velvet mites. Dinothrombium are found in all the world's continents, except Antarctica, often in dry areas, where they spend most of the time underground in the soil or sand, emerging after heavy rain. During this time, they can be conspicuous and numerous.

Trombidium grandissimum, commonly known as the giant red velvet mite, is a species of mite in the genus Trombidium in the family Trombidiidae. This common mite is endemic to northern and central India, especially in the central plateau, and it primarily inhabits arid regions. T. grandissimum live on the ground and often hidden among soil, but is commonly seen during the rainy season or after recent rain events, and therefore has the nickname of "rain bug".

Dinothrombium pandorae, also known as an angelita or a rain bug, is a giant red velvet mite found in the Southern California desert. This species usually emerges after rains. The larva eat grasshoppers, the adults eat termites.

References

  1. ↑ Leach, 1815 : A tabular view of the external characters of four classes of animals, which Linné arranged under Insecta; with the distribution of the genera composing three of these classes into orders, and descriptions of several new genera and species. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, vol. 11, p. 306–400.
  2. 1 2 "Family Trombidiidae - true velvet mites - BugGuide.Net". bugguide.net. BugGuide. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  3. 1 2 Maake, P. (2015). "Velvet mites (Family Trombidiidae: Dinothrombium spp.)". ARC-Plant Protection Research. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 De, Sayantan (2020). "Red velvet mite (Trombidium grandissimum) and its extreme strategies for survival". Species. 21 (67).
  5. ↑ Schmidt, J.O.; Schmidt, L.S. (2022). "Big, bad, and red: Giant velvet mite defenses and life strategies (Trombidiformes: Trombidiidae: Dinothrombium)". Journal of Arachnology. 50 (2): 175–180. doi: 10.1636/JoA-S-21-019 .
  6. 1 2 Zhang, Zhi-Qiang (1998) Biology and ecology of trombidiid mites (Acari: Trombidioidea) Experimental & Applied Acarology 22:139–155 PDF
  7. ↑ L. Conradt, S. A. Corbet, T. J. Roper, E. J. Bodsworth (2002) Parasitism by the mite Trombidium breei on four U.K. butterfly species. Ecological Entomology 27(6):651–659
  8. ↑ Durkin, Emily S.; Cassidy, Steven T.; Gilbert, Rachel; Richardson, Elise A.; Roth, Allison M.; Shablin, Samantha; Keiser, Carl N. (10 December 2021). "Parasites of spiders: Their impacts on host behavior and ecology". The Journal of Arachnology. 49 (3). doi: 10.1636/JoA-S-20-087 . ISSN   0161-8202.
  9. ↑ "Parasitengona - velvet mites (including chiggers) & water mites". bugguide.net. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  10. ↑ Mąkol, J.; Wohltmann, Andreas (2000). "A redescription of Trombidium holosericeum (Linnaeus, 1758) (Acari: Actinotrichida: Trombidioidea) with characteristics of all active instars and notes on taxonomy and biology". Annales Zoologici. 50 (1): 67–91.
  11. ↑ Makol, Joanna (2007) Generic level review and phylogeny of Trombidiidae and Podothrombiidae (Acari: Actinotrichida: Trombidioidea) of the world. Annales Zoologici 57(1): 1–194
  12. ↑ Makol, 2007 : Generic level review and phylogeny of Trombidiidae and Podothrombiidae (Acari: Actinotrichida: Trombidioidea) of the world. Annales Zoologici (Warsaw), vol. 57, n. 1, p. 1-194.
  13. ↑ Oudhia, P. 1999b. Traditional medicinal knowledge about red velvet mite Trombidium sp. (Acari: Trombidiidae) in Chhattisgarh. Insect Environment 5(3):113. Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ Reddy, T. Karnakar (24 June 2015). "Rare breed of insects in huge demand - The Hindu". The Hindu.
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