''Balaustium medicagoense'' is a species of

mite 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 e ...

belonging to the family

Erythraeidae Erythraeidae is a family of mites belonging to the Trombidiformes. Larval forms of these mites are parasitic on various other arthropods, for example harvestmen, but the adults are free-living predators. These oval mites are rather large, usually ...

. 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. This mite is associated with ''

Medicago sativa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

'' and various other plants and has been recorded in the vicinity of Caledon and

Grabouw Grabouw is a town located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Grabouw is located some 65 km south-east of Cape Town, over Sir Lowry's Pass from Somerset West, along the N2 highway.The town is the commercial centre for the vast Elg ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

References

*''Nine new species of the superfamily Erythraeoidea (Acarina: Trombidiformes) associated with plants in South Africa'', Magdalena K.P. Meyer & P.A.J. Ryke, Acarologia I Trombidiformes Animals described in 1959 Endemic fauna of South Africa {{Trombidiformes-stub