Trombidiidae

Not to be confused with Trombiculidae, similar in name and appearance, but a different family of mites.

Trombidiidae
Temporal range: Palaeogene–present
Trombidium sp.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Trombidiformes
Superfamily: Trombidioidea
Family: Trombidiidae
Leach, 1815[1]

Trombidiidae, also known as red velvet mites, true velvet mites,[2] or rain bugs, are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) found in plant litter and are known for their bright red color.

While adults are typically no more than 4 mm (0.16 in) in length, some species can grow larger and the largest, including the African Dinothrombium tinctorum and Indian Trombidium grandissimum, may exceed 12 mm (0.47 in).[2][3][4] This also makes them the largest mites, if disregarding ticks engorged after feeding;[5] unlike those, D. tinctorum and T. grandissimum are harmless to humans.[3][4]

Their life pattern is in stages similar to other members of the Prostigmata: egg, pre-larva, larva, protonymph, deutonymph, tritonymph and adult (male or female). They usually have only one breeding cycle per year.[6]

They are active predators as grown adults. As larvae they are often parasites of insects[7] and other arachnids.[8] This lifestyle is typical of the Parasitengona.[9]

One well-known species from Europe, Asia, and North Africa is Trombidium holosericeum.[10] The systematics of this group has been in flux and many former subfamilies of this are now raised to families within the Trombidioidea.[6][11]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference leach1815 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference bg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Maake, P. (2015). "Velvet mites (Family Trombidiidae: Dinothrombium spp.)". ARC-Plant Protection Research. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b De, Sayantan (2020). "Red velvet mite (Trombidium grandissimum) and its extreme strategies for survival". Species. 21 (67).
  5. ^ Schmidt, J.O.; Schmidt, L.S. (2022). "Big, bad, and red: Giant velvet mite defenses and life strategies (Trombidiformes: Trombidiidae: Dinothrombium)". Journal of Arachnology. 50 (2): 175–180. doi:10.1636/JoA-S-21-019.
  6. ^ a b Zhang, Zhi-Qiang (1998) Biology and ecology of trombidiid mites (Acari: Trombidioidea) Experimental & Applied Acarology 22:139–155 PDF
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference conradt2002 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Durkin, Emily S.; Cassidy, Steven T.; Gilbert, Rachel; Richardson, Elise A.; Roth, Allison M.; Shablin, Samantha; Keiser, Carl N. (10 December 2021). "Parasites of spiders: Their impacts on host behavior and ecology". The Journal of Arachnology. 49 (3). doi:10.1636/JoA-S-20-087. ISSN 0161-8202.
  9. ^ "Parasitengona - velvet mites (including chiggers) & water mites". bugguide.net. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  10. ^ Mąkol, J.; Wohltmann, Andreas (2000). "A redescription of Trombidium holosericeum (Linnaeus, 1758) (Acari: Actinotrichida: Trombidioidea) with characteristics of all active instars and notes on taxonomy and biology". Annales Zoologici. 50 (1): 67–91.
  11. ^ Makol, Joanna (2007) Generic level review and phylogeny of Trombidiidae and Podothrombiidae (Acari: Actinotrichida: Trombidioidea) of the world. Annales Zoologici 57(1): 1–194