''Tyrophagus longior'' is a

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 ...

in the family

Acaridae The Acaridae are a family of mites in order Sarcoptiformes. Distribution There are several acarid genera with cosmopolitan distributions, such as ''Acarus', Sancassania'' and ''Tyrophagus''. There are even ''Tyrophagus'' found in Antarctica ...

Description

''Tyrophagus longior'' is oval in shape and whitish to semitransparent in colour. It is covered dorsally in barbed

seta 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. ...

e. There are eight legs (six in larvae) that are light brown in colour. Adult females of ''T. longior'' can be distinguished from others of the genus by the following: prodorsal shield without pigmented eyespots; hysterosomal setae ''d1'' about 1.3–1.8× as long as ''c1'' and ''d2'', and the alveoli (bases) of ''d1'' situated approximately midway between those of ''c1'' and ''e1;'' and tarsi I and II with solenidia that are long and slender (not expanded at the tips). Adult males similarly lack pigmented eyespots and have long, slender solenidia. Males also have a large and slender aedeagus (male reproductive organ).

Life cycle

Like other species of ''Tyrophagus'', ''T. longior'' has a life cycle consisting of egg, larva, protonymph, tritonymph, and adult.

Habitat

These mites have been collected from a wide range of plants and plant products, including seeds (e.g. acorns,

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

s), fruits (e.g.

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family ( Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for ...

es, bananas, strawberries), grains (e.g.

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

), vegetables (e.g. cucumbers,

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

s) and

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

s. They have also been collected from animal nests (e.g. bird nests, bee hives) and animal products (e.g. cheese,

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

). Despite this wide range of habitats, ''T. longior'' usually does not occur in human dwellings and when it does, rarely in large numbers. There is one report of a large ''T. longior'' population building up in dog biscuits underneath the floor (originally hoarded there by mice) and repeatedly emerging into a house by the thousands.

Diet

''Tyrophagus longior'' is predominantly a fungivore, but it can also feed on plants directly. Under laboratory conditions, ''T. longior'' has been reared on a mix of yeast and corn flour.

Distribution

''Tyrophagus longior'' occurs in many different countries and continents. It has even been introduced to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

Pest status

This species is one of the important mite pests on cheese. It is also one of the mites responsible for oral mite anaphylaxis, a disease caused by eating mite-contaminated food. Ornamental plants such as ''

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 ...

Malva ''Malva'' is a genus of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae. It is one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temper ...

'' (=''Lavatera'') and ''

Consolida ajacis ''Consolida ajacis'' (doubtful knight's spur or rocket larkspur) is an annual flowering plant of the family Ranunculaceae native to Eurasia. It is widespread in other areas, including much of North America, where it is an introduced species. It ...

'' (=''Delphinium ajacis'') may suffer severe damage from ''T. longior'' attack. Symptoms include distortion and death of growing points and holing of young leaves.

Research

The mitochondrial rDNA of ''T. longior'' has been sequenced and used in

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analysis.

References

External links

''Tyrophagus longior'' (Gerv., 1844) (Acarina, Acaridae) – bio-ecology, occurrence and noxiousness
(in Polish) {{Taxonbar, from=Q4545591 Acaridae Animals described in 1844 Cosmopolitan arthropods