Trombicula autumnalis

Trombicula autumnalis, known as the harvest mite or autumn chigger, is a species of mite of the family Trombiculidae. Their larvae live parasitically; they infect all domestic mammals, humans, and some ground-nesting birds.[2]

Trombicula autumnalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Arachnida
Subclass:
Acari
Order:
Trombidiformes
Family:
Trombiculidae
Genus:
Trombicula
Subgenus:
Neotrombicula
Species:
T. autumnalis
Binomial name
Trombicula autumnalis
(Shaw, 1790)
Synonyms

Neotrombicula autumnalis[1]

Description

The larvae are normally orange or red in color with six legs, but develop eight legs by nymph stage. The larvae are up to 0.2 mm (0.01 in) in size.[2] The adult mites are about 1 mm (0.04 in) long.[2]

Lifecycle
Further information on harvest mite life cycle: Trombiculidae

The eggs are laid in damp soil. After hatching, the larvae climb blades of grass and wait for a potential host.[2] With their "blade-like chelicerae",[2] they attach themselves to the hosts and feed on their tissues. After sucking, which lasts several days,[2] they fall off and develop over three stages of nymph to adult mites.

References
  1. "Ixodes scapularis in dogs - Vetlexicon Canis from Vetstream - Definitive Veterinary Intelligence". www.vetstream.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  2. Richard Wall & David Shearer (2001). "Trombiculidae". Veterinary Ectoparasites: Biology, Pathology, and Control (2nd ed.). John Wiley and Sons. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-0-632-05618-7.
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