Flat Mites of the World

CPHST’s Identification Technology Program (ITP) is pleased to announce the release of its latest identification tool, Flat Mites of the World. This tool is aimed at enhanc­ing our diagnostic capabilities for key taxa and to ultimately allow plant protection and quaran­tine services to develop rapid solutions to serious biosecurity threats.

Flat mites remain one of the most economically significant of all acarine groups. All species are phytophagous and the species that have been identified as pests have shown the potential to cause severe economic damage to agricultural crops, ornamentals, and timber. They cause dam­age directly through feeding on host plant tissue and indirectly through the transmission of plant viruses.

Flat Mites of the World will help you identify, via interactive keys, diagnostic fact sheets, and an image gallery, the 36 genera of flat mites present throughout the world, including specific diagnostics for 13 species of Raoiella, 14 species of Brevipalpus, and Tenuipalpus pacificus. The resource can be accessed at:  idtools.org/id/mites/flatmites/