''Schwiebea'' is a genus of mites in the family Acaridae. It is among the largest in the family with over 60 species.

Description

Adults of ''Schwiebea'' are distinguished from other mites by: the absence of many

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...

, the reduction of supracoxal seta of leg I to a tiny spine, and the absence of Grandjean's organ. Additionally, the propodosomal sclerite has a posterior indentation/incision for up to 50% of its length. Females have a

spermatheca The spermatheca (pronounced plural: spermathecae ), also called receptaculum seminis (plural: receptacula seminis), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, oligochaeta worms and certain other ...

(organ for receiving and storing sperm) and its morphology is important for distinguishing species.

Habitat

''Schwiebea'' have been collected from various habitats including vegetation (

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

roots, a

verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas a ...

field, peony rose, ''

Gerbera ''Gerbera'' ( or ) L. is a genus of plants in the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. The first scientific description of a ''Gerbera'' was made by J. D. Hooker in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1889 when he described ''Gerbera jamesonii'', a South ...

'' roots, yams,

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

seeds), leaf litter, peat moss, caves, insect rearing containers and even some aquatic environments ( fish farms,

aquariums An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, a ...

, swimming pools). Some species attach phoretically to arthropods such as

bark beetles A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although the ...

, millipedes and ticks.

Reproduction

Some species of ''Schwiebea'' are all-female and reproduce by

parthenogenesis Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development ...

, while others use sexual reproduction. Parthenogenesis is thought to have evolved at least three times within the genus.

Pest status

One species, ''S. similis'', is a pest of American ginseng in China. A scientific study found it can also feed on other crops to varying extents, including

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 ...

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

and

Chinese yam ''Dioscorea polystachya'' or Chinese yam ( zh, s=山药, t=山藥), also called cinnamon-vine, is a species of flowering plant in the yam family. It is sometimes called Chinese potato or by its Korean name ''ma''. It is a perennial climbing vin ...

Species

* '' Schwiebea afroaustralis'' Mahunka, 1979 * '' Schwiebea aksuensis'' Bugrov, 1995 * '' Schwiebea aquatilis'' Fain, 1982 * ''

Schwiebea armata ''Schwiebea'' is a genus of mites in the family Acaridae. It is among the largest in the family with over 60 species. Description Adults of ''Schwiebea'' are distinguished from other mites by: the absence of many setae, the reduction of supra ...

'' (Mahunka, 1979) * ''

Schwiebea capitata ''Schwiebea'' is a genus of mites in the family Acaridae. It is among the largest in the family with over 60 species. Description Adults of ''Schwiebea'' are distinguished from other mites by: the absence of many setae, the reduction of supra ...

'' (Mahunka, 1979) * ''

Schwiebea cavernicola ''Schwiebea'' is a genus of mites in the family Acaridae. It is among the largest in the family with over 60 species. Description Adults of ''Schwiebea'' are distinguished from other mites by: the absence of many setae, the reduction of supra ...

'' Vitzthum, 1932 * '' Schwiebea cavicola'' Mahunka, 1978 * '' Schwiebea cepa'' Karg, 1987 * '' Schwiebea codognoensis'' Fain & Pagani, 1989 * '' Schwiebea coniferae'' (Sevastianov & Tamam-Nasem-Marros, 1993) * '' Schwiebea cuncta'' Ho, 1993 * '' Schwiebea danielopoli'' Fain, 1982 * '' Schwiebea elongata'' (Banks, 1906) * '' Schwiebea estradai'' Fain & Ferrando, 1991 * '' Schwiebea eurynymphae'' (Oudemans, 1911) * '' Schwiebea hibernica'' Purvis & Evans, 1982 * '' Schwiebea italica'' Oudemans, 1924 * '' Schwiebea jiangxiensis'' Jiang, 1995 * '' Schwiebea koerneri'' Turk & Turk, 1957 * '' Schwiebea kurilensis'' Bugrov, 1995 * '' Schwiebea laphriae'' (Samsinak, 1956) * '' Schwiebea longibursata'' Fain & Wauthy, 1979 * '' Schwiebea montana'' Bugrov, 1995 * '' Schwiebea neomycolicha'' Klimov, 1998 * '' Schwiebea nesbitti'' Turk & Turk, 1957 * '' Schwiebea nova'' (Oudemans, 1906) * '' Schwiebea obesa'' Fain & Fauvel, 1988 * '' Schwiebea piceae'' Bugrov, 1995 * '' Schwiebea podicis'' (Ashfaq & Chaudhri, 1986) * '' Schwiebea ruienensis'' Fain & Wauthy, 1979 * '' Schwiebea sakhalinensis'' Bugrov, 1995 * '' Schwiebea similis'' (Manson, 1972) * '' Schwiebea subterranea'' Fain, 1982 * '' Schwiebea taiwanensis'' Ho, 1993 * '' Schwiebea talpa'' Oudemans, 1916 * '' Schwiebea tuzkoliensis'' Bugrov, 1995 * '' Schwiebea ulmi'' Jacot, 1936 * '' Schwiebea zhangzhouensis'' Lin-Zhonghua & Lin-Baoshu, 2000

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7433289 Acaridae