Aceria anthocoptes
Encyclopedia
Aceria anthocoptes also known as the russet mite, rust mite, thistle mite, or the Canada thistle mite is a species of mite
that belongs to the family Eriophyidae.
Aceria anthocoptes can be found on Cirsium arvense
, the Canada thistle, and is a good potential biological pest control
agent of this invasive weed.
Female specimens have a somewhat fusiform
shape, and range in colour. Depending upon the stage of development, both nymphs and adults can appear white, tan, pink, or yellow. They are approximately 170 µm long and 65 µm wide, and are thus almost invisible to the naked eye. Chelicerae are about 20 µm long, and are almost straight.
. Because of its life history and its morphology, this mite is considered to be a vagrant species.
This mite can be found in a number of Europe
an countries and in the United States
. As of 2001, it is known to exist in 21 countries. It is the only species of eriophyid mite that has been found on Cirsium arvense
throughout the world.
This mite normally spends the winter as fertilized female adults, remaining under bud scales of the thistle. They emerge in the spring. They continuously reproduce during times other than winter, creating a new generation every two to three weeks. Aceria anthocoptes mite feeds by sucking the contents of the leaf cells.
Mite
Mites, along with ticks, are small arthropods belonging to the subclass Acari and the class Arachnida. The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called acarology.-Diversity and systematics:...
that belongs to the family Eriophyidae.
Aceria anthocoptes can be found on Cirsium arvense
Cirsium arvense
Cirsium arvense is a species of Cirsium, native throughout Europe and northern Asia, and widely introduced elsewhere. The standard English name in its native area is Creeping Thistle.-Alternate names:...
, the Canada thistle, and is a good potential biological pest control
Biological pest control
Biological control of pests in agriculture is a method of controlling pests that relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms...
agent of this invasive weed.
Description
Fusiform
Fusiform means having a spindle-like shape that is wide in the middle and tapers at both ends.* Aneurysms can be classified as saccular or fusiform...
shape, and range in colour. Depending upon the stage of development, both nymphs and adults can appear white, tan, pink, or yellow. They are approximately 170 µm long and 65 µm wide, and are thus almost invisible to the naked eye. Chelicerae are about 20 µm long, and are almost straight.
Distribution
Aceria anthocoptes is a 'free-living' eriophyidEriophyid
Eriophyidae is a family of more than 200 genera of mites, which live as plant parasites, commonly causing galls or other damage to the plant tissues and hence known as gall mites. About 3,600 species have been described, but this is probably less than 10% of the actual number existing in this...
. Because of its life history and its morphology, this mite is considered to be a vagrant species.
This mite can be found in a number of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of 2001, it is known to exist in 21 countries. It is the only species of eriophyid mite that has been found on Cirsium arvense
Cirsium arvense
Cirsium arvense is a species of Cirsium, native throughout Europe and northern Asia, and widely introduced elsewhere. The standard English name in its native area is Creeping Thistle.-Alternate names:...
throughout the world.
In the United States
This species is found in the following states:- ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
- DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
- KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
- MarylandMarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
- MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
- MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
- NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
- North DakotaNorth DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
- PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
- South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
- VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
- West VirginiaWest VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
- WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
Behaviour and life cycle
These mites produce multiple generations each year, and probably overwinter on root or the root buds.This mite normally spends the winter as fertilized female adults, remaining under bud scales of the thistle. They emerge in the spring. They continuously reproduce during times other than winter, creating a new generation every two to three weeks. Aceria anthocoptes mite feeds by sucking the contents of the leaf cells.