SARAS - Acari

Mites and ticks (Acari) are "go anywhere, do anything" arachnids (Walter & Proctor 1999). Mites are truly omnipresent. With the exception of the water column of the open ocean, they exist in every sort of aquatic, terrestrial, arboreal and parasitic habitat. Because of their relatively small size, mites tend to treat other animals as habitats. All taxa larger than mites have been colonised: insects, arachnids (including other mites), myriapods, crustaceans, molluscs, annelids and all orders of terrestrial vertebrates host symbiotic mites. Mites may be temporary or permanent symbionts and may act as commensals, mutualists, parasites or parasitoids (Walter & Proctor 2013).
Significance of soil mites in processing the organic matter into humus, for the life of the soils as an organic component of ecosystem, in which they help to maintain an equilibrium and increase the fertility of soil. Mites and ticks directly affect humans as pests of different crops, fruit plants, vegetable crops and field crops; as parasites of human beings, veterinary animals, poultry and pets; as pests of stored grains and other products, mushrooms and cheese; and as parasites of honeybees. Mite infestations are responsible for huge economic losses in terms of reduced crop yields and lowered quality of produce. Many species of mites serve as vectors of various plant diseases; some species of ticks cause losses through blood feeding and by transmitting many diseases among man and animals. House-dust mite allergies and tick bite allergies are also common in many parts of the world (Dhooria 2016).
So far, in Slovakia were found 2,082 species from 4 acarine orders.

Opilioacarida	Four pairs of dorsolateral stigmata posterior to level of coxae III. Anus terminal. Coxae of legs free, movable.	35 extant species (Beaulieu et al. 2011, Walter & Proctor 2013)
Holothyrida	One pair of ventrolateral stigmata in region lateral to coxae III. Anal valves with 2 or more pairs of setae. Epistome lacking, bases of chelicerae enclosed by pliable cuticle. Coxae of legs free, movable.	35 extant species (Beaulieu et al. 2011, Walter & Proctor 2013)
Ixodida	One pair of ventrolateral stigmata posterior to coxae IV. Mouthparts with hypostome modified into a piercing organ, dorsum of tarsus I with a sensory complex (Haller's organ). Coxae of legs free, unmovable.	900 extant species (Beaulieu et al. 2011, Walter & Proctor 2013) 25 species
Mesostigmata	One pair of ventrolateral stigmata in region lateral to coxae III-IV. Anal valves nude or at most with 1 pair of setae. Epistome present, bases of chelicerae enclosed by a sclerotized ring. Coxae of legs free, movable.	12,017 extant species (Beaulieu et al. 2011, Walter & Proctor 2013) 868 species
Trombidiformes	One pair of stigmata opening between bases of chelicerae or on anterior idiosoma (absent in Sphaerolichida), coxae of legs integrated with venter of idiosoma. Chelicerae rarely chelate, opisthosoma lacking paired lateral glands.	25,146 extant species (Zhang et al. 2011, Walter & Proctor 2013) 462 species
Sarcoptiformes	Tracheal system arising from bases of legs or absent (Astigmata), coxae of legs integrated with venter of idiosoma. Chelicerae typically chelate, opisthosoma usually with paired lateral glands, idiosoma usually well sclerotized (not Endeostigmata and Astigmata).	16,630 extant species (Schatz et al. 2011, Walter & Proctor 2013) 727 species

Important references

Beaulieu, F., Dowling, A.P.G., Klompen, H., de Moraes, G.J., Walter, D.E. 2011. Superorder Parasitiformes Reuter, 1909. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness. Zootaxa 3148: 123–128.

Dhooria, M.S. 2016. Fundamentals of Applied Acarology. Springer Science & Business Media Singapore, 470 pp.

Krantz, G.W., Walter, D.E. (Eds) 2009. A Manual of Acarology. Third Edition. Texas Tech University Press, 807 pp.

Schatz, H., Behan-Pelletier, V.M., OConnor, B.M., Norton, R.A. 2011. Suborder Oribatida van der Hammen, 1968. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness. Zootaxa 3148: 141–148.

Schmidt, K.-H. 2010. AcariBase - database of mites with more than 58.000 names, online at http://www.miteresearch.org/index1.html, accessed on 17. October 2016.

Walter, D.E., Bolton, S., Uusitalo, M., Zhang, Z.-Q. 2011. Suborder Endeostigmata Reuter, 1909. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness. Zootaxa 3148: 139–140.

Walter, D.E., Proctor, H.C. 1999. Mites: Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, 322 pp.

Walter, D.E., Proctor, H.C. 2013. Mites: ecology, evolution and behaviour – life at a microscale. Second Edition. Springer, The Netherlands, 494 pp.

Zhang, Z.-Q., Fan, Q.-H., Pesić, V., Smit, H., Bochkov, A.V., Khaustov, A.A., Baker, A., Wohltmann, A., Wen, T., Amrine, J.W., Beron, P., Lin, J., Gabrys, G., Husband, R. 2011. Order Trombidiformes Reuter, 1909. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness. Zootaxa 3148: 129–138.

Acari (mites and ticks)
Araneae • Opiliones • Pseudoscorpiones • Palpigradi • Schizomida • Acari

	Slovak Arachnological Society