''Eriophyes tulipae'', commonly known as the dry bulb mite, 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 evid ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Eriophyes ''Eriophyes'' is a genus of acari that forms galls, specially on trees of the family Rosaceae. Some are called blister mites. The blue butterfly '' Celastrina serotina'' has been reported to feed on these galls and also on the mites, making it ...

''. This mite feeds on members of the lily family, and has damaged garlic crops. At one time, it was also thought to feed on wheat and other grasses, but the wheat curl mite is now regarded as a different species, ''

Aceria tosichella ''Aceria tosichella'', commonly known as the wheat curl mite (WCM), is a global cereal pest and a vector for spreading and transmission of viruses like wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) and wheat mosaic virus (WMoV) Distribution The distributio ...

''.

Taxonomy

This mite was first described in 1938 by the German zoologist

Friedrich Kiefer Professor Friedrich Kiefer (9 September 1897 – 18 April 1985) was a German zoologist, specialising in freshwater copepods. For over 60 years, he was "the preeminent morphological taxonomist of continental free-living copepods". Kiefer was born in ...

. It was believed to be found across Europe, Asia and North America, feeding on grasses and plants in the lily family. As such, it was thought to be a vector of the

wheat streak mosaic virus ''Wheat streak mosaic virus'' (WSMV) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family ''Potyviridae'' that infects plants in the family Poaceae, especially wheat (''Triticum spp.''); it is globally distributed and vectored by the wheat curl mite, parti ...

, but it was later realised that the mites feeding on grasses and lilies were different species, and the wheat curl mite is now classified as ''

'', with ''Eriophyes tulipae'' being restricted to bulbous plants.

Description

''Eriophyes tulipae'' is a small cylindrical mite tapering towards the front and back, with an adult length of . The

gnathosoma The gnathosoma (from Greek , ' = "jaw" and , ' = "body") is the part of the body of the Acari (mites and ticks) comprising the mouth and feeding parts. These are the hypostome, the chelicerae and the pedipalps. It is also called the capitulum (howe ...

bears a pair of featherclaws by way of mouthparts. The prosoma and the opisthosoma are continuous and there are no legs or ocelli. The few setae on the body point towards the rear and there are tubercles along the rear margin of the shield. The posterior end has an anal sucker.

Biology

''Eriophyes tulipae'' feeds on the green plant tissues of members of the lily family. The life cycle consists of an egg stage, two nymphal stages and an adult stage. The first stage nymph has dorsal setae that do not point towards the rear, and these change orientation at the moult at the end of this stage. In Central America, this mite is a

crop pest A pest is any animal or plant harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environ ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

. The mites live between the layers of the garlic cloves and inside the leaves, and form small galls. The garlic bulbs may fail to develop and the leaves may turn yellow. The mites can be dispersed by wind, having climbed to the upper parts of the plant.

Distribution

The dry bulb mite is found on all continents except Antarctica (

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q48789756 Eriophyidae Animals described in 1938 Agricultural pest mites