MP-2

• Main Authors: Mites On Ornamentals, Edwin Mersino
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2002
• Subjects: Tundra
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.508.1581; http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/MP-2.pdf

Mites are not insects; they are in the biological class Arachnida, with spiders and scorpions. They live in almost all habitats including ocean floors, deserts, hot springs, deep soil, mountaintops, and tundra. Most are predatory or parasitic on other animals, including hu mans, with only a few feeding on plants. Over 30,000 different mites and ticks have been described, and thou sands remain undescribed. Unlike insects, which have six legs and three body parts, adult mites have eight legs and two body parts. The front of the body that includes the feeding structure is called a gnathosoma. Most mites that feed on plants are very small. A microscope is required to see and iden tify them. They damage plants by sucking the contents of individual plant cells. Monitoring mites—Scout! Scout! Scout!