Tarsonemidae

Tarsonemidae
	Acarapis woodi
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Trombidiformes
(unranked):	Heterostigmatina
Superfamily:	Tarsonemoidea
Family:	Tarsonemidae; Kramer, 1877
Diversity
	45 genera, > 500 species

Tarsonemidae is a family of mites, also called thread-footed mites or white mites.

Only a limited number of tarsonemid genera (Steneotarsonemus, Polyphagotarsonemus, Phytonemus, Floridotarsonemus and Tarsonemus) are known to feed on higher plants while most species in this family feed on the thin-walled mycelia of fungi or possibly algal bodies.^[1] Even among the plant-feeding tarsonemid mites, most are confined to areas of new growth where cell walls are thin and therefore easily pierced. However two species (the "broad mite" Polyphagotarsonemus latus and the "cyclamen mite" Steneotarsonemus pallidus) are able to feed on older leaves because of their ability to inject toxins during feeding (presumably of salivary gland origin) causing an increase of thin walled cells surrounding feeding sites.^[1] This proliferation of new growth often results in leaves that appear stunted, puckered and twisted.^[1]

Some Tarsonemidae are associated with insects. For example, three tribes of Acarapinae are insect parasites: Acarapini are parasites of Apis bees (the tribe includes notable pest Acarapis woodi), Coreitarsonemini live in odoriferous glands of leaf-footed bugs (Coreidae) and Podotarsonemini attach to wings of tetrigid grasshoppers.^[2]

Taxonomy

Subdivision^[3]

Subfamily Pseudotarsonemoidinae
- Tribe Tarsonemellini
- Tribe Pseudotarsonemoidini
Subfamily Acarapinae
- Tribe Coreitarsonemini
Subfamily Tarsoneminae
- Tribe Hemitarsonemini
- Tribe Steneotarsonemini
- Tribe Tarsonemini
- Tribe Pseudacarapin

Selected genera

Control

While little pest management research has been done on the majority of tarsonemid species, comprehensive studies have been made into the biological and chemical control of the cyclamen mite and the broad mite. Chemical trials demonstrated that endosulfan and dicofol consistently reduced densities of P. latus and S. pallidus,^[4] and planting stock can be effectively decontaminated through fumigation with methyl bromide or 1,2-dibromoethane.^[1] Three entomogenous fungi, Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus, can effectively manage broad mite infestations, with B. bassiana providing the greatest reduction.^[5] Predatory phytoseiid mites, in the genus Neoseiulus, can also successfully control P. latus and S. pallidus under greenhouse and field conditions.^[6]^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d L. R. Jeppson; Hartford H. Keifer & Edward William Baker (1975). "The Tarsonemidae Kramer". Mites injurious to economic plants. University of California Press. pp. 285–306. ISBN 978-0-520-02381-9.
^ Seeman, Owen Douglas; Baker, Michelle (2023). "A new species of Coreitarsonemus (Acari: Heterostigmata: Tarsonemidae) from the odoriferous glands of Amorbus rhombifer (Hemiptera: Coreidae)". Systematic and Applied Acarology. doi:10.11158/saa.28.12.7. ISSN 2056-6069.
^ JIANZHEN LIN & ZHI-QIANG ZHANG. Tarsonemidae of the World. 2002
^ G. Sterk; G. E. Bal; W. Goossens & D. Bylemans (1997). "Semi-field and field experience in the control of the strawberry mite, Tarsonemus pallidus (Banks) (Acarina: Tarsonemidae)". Parasitica. 53 (1): 25–33.
^ I. Nugroho & Y. Ibrahim (2004). "Laboratory bioassay of some entomopathogenic fungi against broad mite". Journal of Agricultural Biology. 6 (2): 223 225.
^ B. A. Croft; P. D. Pratt; G. Koskela & D. Kaufman (1998). "Predation, reproduction, and impact of phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on cyclamen mite (Acari: Tarsonemidae) on strawberry". Journal of Economic Entomology. 91 (6): 1307 1314. doi:10.1093/jee/91.6.1307.
^ P. G. Weintraub & E. Palevsky (2003). "Distribution and diel movement of the predatory mite, Neoseiulus cucumeris, on greenhouse sweet pepper – preliminary study". IOBC/WPRS Bulletin. 26: 89–94.

External links

Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog: Tarsonemidae
cyclamen mite, Phytonemus pallidus on the University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Featured Creatures website
Dr. Eddie Ueckermann. TAXONOMY OF TARSONEMIDAE. ARC

[Jeppson75-1] L. R. Jeppson; Hartford H. Keifer & Edward William Baker (1975). "The Tarsonemidae Kramer". Mites injurious to economic plants. University of California Press. pp. 285–306. ISBN 978-0-520-02381-9.

[2] Seeman, Owen Douglas; Baker, Michelle (2023). "A new species of Coreitarsonemus (Acari: Heterostigmata: Tarsonemidae) from the odoriferous glands of Amorbus rhombifer (Hemiptera: Coreidae)". Systematic and Applied Acarology. doi:10.11158/saa.28.12.7. ISSN 2056-6069.

[3] JIANZHEN LIN & ZHI-QIANG ZHANG. Tarsonemidae of the World. 2002

[4] G. Sterk; G. E. Bal; W. Goossens & D. Bylemans (1997). "Semi-field and field experience in the control of the strawberry mite, Tarsonemus pallidus (Banks) (Acarina: Tarsonemidae)". Parasitica. 53 (1): 25–33.

[5] I. Nugroho & Y. Ibrahim (2004). "Laboratory bioassay of some entomopathogenic fungi against broad mite". Journal of Agricultural Biology. 6 (2): 223 225.

[6] B. A. Croft; P. D. Pratt; G. Koskela & D. Kaufman (1998). "Predation, reproduction, and impact of phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on cyclamen mite (Acari: Tarsonemidae) on strawberry". Journal of Economic Entomology. 91 (6): 1307 1314. doi:10.1093/jee/91.6.1307.

[7] P. G. Weintraub & E. Palevsky (2003). "Distribution and diel movement of the predatory mite, Neoseiulus cucumeris, on greenhouse sweet pepper – preliminary study". IOBC/WPRS Bulletin. 26: 89–94.

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