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Animalia >Arthropoda >Arachnida >Unidentified >Unidentified >Balaustium >

I have long believed that mites of the family Erythraeidae parasitize only hemipterous insects and spiders. The mites can easily be spotted on leafhoppers, aphids, and stinkbugs because they stand out as bright, red dots on the host body. Mites of this family also parasitize larval sawflies and adult lepidopteran insects such as Grapholita scintillana and Amphipyra livida corvinex (both are moth species). The presence of mites on moths may have been overlooked because mites do not stand out on the moth body surface, which has complex patterns of scales and colors. Amphipyra livida corvinex may be highly susceptible to parasitic mites as they have a habit of napping under tree barks. Parasitic mites in general feed on insect body fluid but we rarely see mites in action. In this video picture, a mite (Leptus japonicus) is sucking the blood of a leafhopper in the subfamily Typhlocybinae. (translated by Asoh)

(Data No.momo050306bm01b)

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