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Acari
Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evidence of a close relationship. Most mites are tiny, less than 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 again 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. The scientific discipline devoted to the study of mites is called acarology. Evolution and taxonomy The mites are not a defined taxon, but is used for two distinct groups of arachni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acariformes
The Acariformes, also known as the Actinotrichida, are the most 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. Systematics and taxonomy The Acariformes can be divided into two main clades – Sarcoptiformes and Trombidiformes. In addition, a paraphyletic group containing primitive forms, the Endeostigmata, was formerly also considered distinct. The latter is composed of only 10 families of little-studied, minute, soft-bodied mites that ingest solid food, such as fungi, algae, and soft-bodied invertebrates such as nematodes, rotifers, and tardigrades. These clades were formerly considered suborders, but this does not allow for a sufficiently precise classification of the mites and is abolished in more modern treatments; the Endeostigmata are variously considered to form a suborder on their own (the old view) or are included mainly in the Sarcopt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ixodida
Ticks (order Ixodida) are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians. The timing of the origin of ticks is uncertain, though the oldest known tick fossils are from the Cretaceous period, around 100 million years old. Ticks are widely distributed around the world, especially in warm, humid climates. Ticks belong to two major families, the Ixodidae or hard ticks, and the Argasidae, or soft ticks. ''Nuttalliella,'' a genus of tick from southern Africa is the only member of the family Nuttalliellidae, and represents the most primitive living lineage of ticks. Adults have ovoid/pear-shaped bodies (idiosomas) which become engorged with blood when they feed, and eight legs. Their cephalothorax and abdomen are completely fused. In additi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parasitiformes
Parasitiformes are a superorder of Arachnids, constituting one of the two major groups of mites, alongside Acariformes. Parasitiformes has, at times, been classified at the rank of order or suborder. It is uncertain whether Parasitiformes and Acariformes are closely related, and in many analyses they are recovered more closely related to other arachnids. Amongst the best known members of the group are the ticks, though the Mesostigmata is by far the most diverse group with over 8,000 described species, including economically important species such as the varroa mite. Description Taxonomy * Holothyrida - small group of scavenging mites native to former Gondwana landmasses * Ixodida – ticks * Mesostigmata – a large order of predatory and parasitic mites * Opilioacarida – a small group of large, long-legged segmented mites. Many species are parasitic (most famous of which are ticks), but not all. For example, about half of the 10,000 known species in the suborder Mesostig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arachnid
Arachnida () is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals (arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegaroons. Almost all adult arachnids have eight legs, although the front pair of legs in some species has converted to a sensory function, while in other species, different appendages can grow large enough to take on the appearance of extra pairs of legs. The term is derived from the Greek word (''aráchnē'', 'spider'), from the myth of the hubristic human weaver Arachne, who was turned into a spider. Almost all extant arachnids are terrestrial, living mainly on land. However, some inhabit freshwater environments and, with the exception of the pelagic zone, marine environments as well. They comprise over 100,000 named species, of which 47,000 are species of spiders. Morphology Almost all adult arachnids have eight legs, unlike adult inse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varroa
''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 (also, incorrectly, varroatosis). ''Varroa'' mites, specifically the species ''Varroa destructor'', are recognised as the biggest pest to honeybees worldwide due to their ability to transmit diseases such as deformed wing virus (or DWV) to larval or pupating bees, resulting in death or severe deformity of the pupae. History and behavior ''Varroa'' mites feed off the fat body tissue of adult, pupal, and larval honey bees, and may carry viruses that are particularly damaging to the bees (e.g., deformed wings, and IAPV), and accordingly they have been implicated in colony collapse disorder. Research has indicated that alone, neither ''Varroa'' mites nor deformed wing virus are particularly de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opilioacarida
Opilioacaridae is the sole family of mites in the order Opilioacarida, made up of about 13 genera. The mites of this family are rare, large (1.5 to 2.5 mm) mites, and are widely considered primitive, as they retain six pairs of eyes, and abdominal segmentation. They have historically been considered separate from other mites belonging to Acariformes and Parasitiformes, but are now generally considered a subgroup of Parasitiformes based on molecular phylogenetics. The first member of the Opilioacarida to be discovered was the Algerian species '' Opilioacarus segmentatus'', which was described by Carl Johannes With in 1902, followed by the Sicilian '' Eucarus italicus'' and '' Eucarus arabicus'' from Aden, both in 1904. Two fossil specimens are known, one of which was discovered in Baltic amber from the Eocene, while the other one was discovered in the Burmese amber from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acarology
Acarology (from Ancient Greek /, , a type of mite; and , ) is the study of mites and ticks, the animals in the order Acarina. It is a subfield of arachnology, a subdiscipline of the field of zoology. A zoologist specializing in acarology is called an acarologist. Acarologists may also be parasitologists because many members of Acarina are parasitic. Many acarologists are studying around the world both professionally and as amateurs. The discipline is a developing science and long-awaited research has been provided for it in more recent history. Acarological organisations * Laboratory of Medical Acarology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Tick Research Laboratory University of Rhode Island Tick Research Labat Texas A&M University Acarological societies International * International Congress of Acarology * Societe Internationale des Acarologues de Langue Francaise * Systematic and Applied Acarology Society Regional * Acarology Society of America * Acarological Soc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varroa Destructor
''Varroa destructor'', the ''Varroa'' mite is an ectoparasite, external parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on the honey bees ''Apis cerana'' and ''Apis mellifera''. The disease caused by the mites is called varroosis. The ''Varroa'' mite can reproduce only in a honey bee colony. It attaches to the body of the bee and weakens the bee by sucking fat body, fat bodies. The species is a vector for at least five debilitating bee viruses, including RNA viruses such as the deformed wing virus (DWV). A significant mite infestation leads to the death of a honey bee colony, usually in the late autumn through early spring. The ''Varroa'' mite is the parasite with possibly the most pronounced economic impact on the beekeeping industry. ''Varroa'' is considered to be one of multiple stress factors contributing to the higher levels of bee losses around the world. Physical description File:Varroa destructor protonymph (5048063601).jpg, ''V. destructor'' protonymph File:Varroa destructor deu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endeostigmata
Endeostigmata is a suborder of acariform mites. There are about ten families in Endeostigmata. The grouping is strongly suspected to be paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ..., containing unrelated early diverging lineages of mites. Taxonomy * Suborder Endeostigmata Reuter, 1909 (5 superfamilies, 10 families, 27 genera, 108 species) ** Infraorder Bimichaliida Oconnor, 1984 (1 superfamily) ***Superfamily Alycoidea G. Canestrini & Fanzago, 1877 (3 families) ****Family Alycidae G. Canestrini & Fanzago, 1877 (6 genera, 29 species) ****Family Nanorchestidae Grandjean, 1937 (5 genera, 45 species) ****Family Proterorhagiidae Lindquist & Palacios-Vargas, 1991 (1 genus, 1 species) **Infraorder Nematalycina Lindquist, Krantz & Walter, 2009 (1 superfamily) ***Su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesostigmata
Mesostigmata is an order of mites belonging to the Parasitiformes. They are by far the largest group of Parasitiformes, with over 8,000 species in 130 families. Mesostigmata includes parasitic as well as free-living and predatory forms. They can be recognized by the single pair of spiracles positioned laterally on the body. The family with the most described species is Phytoseiidae. Other families of note are Diplogyniidae, Macrochelidae, Pachylaelapidae, Uropodidae and Veigaiidae. Amongst the best known species are ''Varroa destructor'', an economically important parasite of honey bees, as well as the red mite (''Dermanyssus gallinae'') a parasite of poultry, most commonly chickens. Description Mesostigmata are mites ranging from 0.12-4 mm long (0.2-4 mm according to another source). They have a pair of stigmatal openings above legs III-IV usually associated with a peritrematal groove. The gnathosoma has a sclerotised ring around the bases of the chelicerae (basis capitul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monogynaspida
Mesostigmata is an order of mites belonging to the Parasitiformes. They are by far the largest group of Parasitiformes, with over 8,000 species in 130 families. Mesostigmata includes parasitic as well as free-living and predatory forms. They can be recognized by the single pair of spiracles positioned laterally on the body. The family with the most described species is Phytoseiidae. Other families of note are Diplogyniidae, Macrochelidae, Pachylaelapidae, Uropodidae and Veigaiidae. Amongst the best known species are ''Varroa destructor'', an economically important parasite of honey bees, as well as the red mite (''Dermanyssus gallinae'') a parasite of poultry, most commonly chickens. Description Mesostigmata are mites ranging from 0.12-4 mm long (0.2-4 mm according to another source). They have a pair of stigmatal openings above legs III-IV usually associated with a peritrematal groove. The gnathosoma has a sclerotised ring around the bases of the chelicerae (basis capitul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holothyrida
The Holothyrida are a small order of mites in the superorder Parasitiformes. No fossils are known. With body lengths of more than they are relatively large mites, with a heavily sclerotized body. It is divided into three families, Allothyridae, Holothyridae, and Neothyridae. In a 1998 experimental study, members of the family Allothyridae were found to ignore living animals but readily fed on the body fluids of death arthropods. The order has a distribution largely confined to former Gondwanan landmasses. They are the sister group to Ixodida (ticks).Dobson & Barker 1999 Systematics Allothyridae Allothyridae van der Hammen, 1972 — Australia, New Zealand * '' Allothyrus'' van der Hammen, 1961 :* '' Allothyrus australasiae'' (Womersley, 1935) :* '' Allothyrus constrictus'' (Domrow, 1955) * '' Australothyrus'' van der Hammen, 1983 :* '' Australothyrus ocellatus'' van der Hammen, 1983 Holothyridae Holothyridae Thorell, 1882 Sri Lanka, Indian Ocean islands, New Guinea, New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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