The cyclamen mite (''Phytonemus pallidus'') is a tiny
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 ...
often found as a
pest on
African violet
''Streptocarpus'' sect. ''Saintpaulia'' is a section within ''Streptocarpus'' subgenus ''Streptocarpella'' consisting of about ten species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Tanzania and adjacent sout ...
s and
cyclamen
''Cyclamen'' ( or ) is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. ''Cyclamen'' species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin east to the Caucasus and Iran, with one species in Somalia. They gro ...
plants. It is invisible to the naked eye, measuring only 0.02 cm (0.01 inch) at maturity. It requires a warm, humid environment, and is therefore problematic primarily in
greenhouses.
References
Linquist, E. E. (1987). The World Genera of Tarsonemidae (Acarina: Heterostigmata): A morphological, phylogenetic and systematic revision with a reclassification of family-group taxa in the Heterostigmata. Memoirs Ent. Soc. Canada, (136), 517.
External links
cyclamen mite, ''Phytonemus pallidus''on the
UF /
IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
Trombidiformes
Animals described in 1901
Arachnids of Africa
{{Trombidiformes-stub