Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Species Sarcoptes scabiei - itch mite

human itch mite - Sarcoptes scabiei human itch mite - Sarcoptes scabiei human itch mite - Sarcoptes scabiei Sarcoptes scabiei - human itch mite - Sarcoptes scabiei - female Sarcoptes scabei - Sarcoptes scabiei
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Subclass Acari (Mites and Ticks)
Superorder Acariformes
Order Astigmata (Astigs)
Suborder Psoroptidia
Family Sarcoptidae
Genus Sarcoptes
Species scabiei (itch mite)
Size
adult females: 350-450 micrometers; adult males: 250-350 micrometers
Range
cosmopolitan
Habitat
Mammalian skin; hosts include humans, dogs, non-human primates, ungulates, and marsupials
Life Cycle
The following pertains to the human host:
Sarcoptes scabiei has five developmental stages: egg, larva, two nymphal stages, and adult. All stages reside on the human host. Adult, unmated females reside in their nymphal molting pouches until fertilized by a male. Impregnated females then leave the molting pouch and wander on the surface of the skin until they find a suitable site at which to make a permanent burrow. Females mate only once and remain fertile the rest of their lives (roughly 1-2 months). The mated females burrow into the superficial layer of the skin (stratum corneum), laying 2-3 eggs per day. There is only one female per burrow. After about 3-10 days, larvae hatch and migrate to the surface of the skin and form shallow molting pouches. Within these pouches, the larval mites undergo two nymphal stages before becoming adults. The process from egg to adult is roughly one week in duration. Adult males leave their molting pouches to find and mate with a female.