Family Trombidiidae - Velvet Mites

Classification · Numbers · Size · Food · Works Cited

giant red velvet mite emerging from hole at Falcon State Park - Dinothrombium

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Arachnida (Arachnids)

Subclass Acari (Mites and Ticks)

Superorder Acariformes

Order Actinedida

Suborder Parasitengona

Superfamily Trombidioidea

Family Trombidiidae (Velvet Mites)

Numbers

~300 spp. in 30 genera worldwide(1)

Size

adults to 4 mm(2)

Food

Larvae parasitize insects and arachnids of all major orders. Adults eat insect eggs. Host associations summarized in(3)

Works Cited

1.	Synopsis of the described Arachnida of the World

2.	Spiders and Their Kin: A Golden Guide from St. Martin's Press By Herbert W. Levi, Lorna R. Levi, Nicholas Strekalovsky

3.	Biology and ecology of trombidiid mites (Acari: Trombidioidea) By Z.Q. Zhang

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 1:33pm
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, McClarinJ, kschnei, v belov
Last updated 21 May, 2011 - 11:53pm

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