Identification
Key to adult females of the genus
Caeculus (1).
Habitat
Relatively common soil mites in arid and semi-arid areas (Cal Welbourn, pers. comm. to MAQ, 2011); also relatively common on junipers in central Texas (MAQ pers. obs., 2011)
Life Cycle
Generally considered to be predacious (Cal Welbourn, pers. comm. to MAQ, 2011)
Remarks
Author of the family is
Antonio Berlese (1863-1927, Florence), an Italian entomologist who invented the Berlese funnel, a device for extracting soil insects and other micro fauna from leaf litter, which is still very widely used.
Print References
Berlese A. (1883) Acari, Myriapoda et Scorpiones hucusque in Italia Reperta, Patavii, fasc. 5(1-2), tav. 21-22.
Franz H. (1952) Revision der Caeculidae Berlese 1883 (Acari). Bonner zool. Beitr. 3: 91-124.
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