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#44: Intro to Mites

Litinsects #44: Intro to Mites

If you were to ask me which group of creepy-crawlies gets the worst reputation due to the lifestyles of just a portion of its members, I would absolutely say the mites. People only seem to know about the “bad” mites: ticks, dust mites, those little mites that live on your face (what’s that, you don’t know about face mites yet? Well I can’t wait to tell you about them)... But the fact is, the majority of mite species are ones that are harmless to humans, ones you will probably never hear about and never encounter even though there are an unfathomable number of these crazy-looking creatures all around us.

Welcome to my MONTH OF MITES! Even though they’re not insects, I still think they’re super cool and would love to spread some fun facts, even about species that we may not like very much.

<http://idtools.org/id/mites/invasive_mite/Invasive_Mite_Identification/key/Major_Mite_taxa/Media/Html/0001About.htm>
 

First off, let’s get to know mites in general. Mites are a group of arachnids (the group that contains other 8-legged fellas like spiders and scorpions) called ACARI. The mite lifecycle is egg, larva, nymph, and adult. Over 45,000 species of mites have been described but this number is likely MUCH higher due to the fact that they are not very well studied as a whole. Also they are absolutely tiny; the largest mites are just a few millimeters in size and the smallest are downright minuscule, less than 0.1 mm!

Believe it or not, this is one of the most diverse groups of arthropods, having colonized various terrestrial and even aquatic habitats with a wide variety of lifestyles. As you probably already know, there are plenty of pests and parasites among them that are detrimental to human health, crops/plants, livestock, pets, etc. or that are vectors for disease. Species that do damage or harm are, for obvious reasons, among the most well studied and therefore well known to (and disliked by) most people. However, not all mites are “bad”. In fact, most mites just live in the soil as decomposers, spending their entire lives unnoticed and by the general public.

In my posts this month I will tell you about just a few really fascinating mite species, some you may be disgusted by, some that fully deserve their terrible reputation, and others that you may even come to appreciate... who is ready for month of mites!? (I am in full on nerd-mode and am pumped!)

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