Did you know that the Giant Red Velvet Mite (Trombidium grandissimum) is a large mite found in northern and central India? Growing up to a massive (for a mite) 1.2cm, this is one of the largest known mites in the world. The adults feed on insects even smaller than they are. As larvae, they attach themselves to larger insects, usually crickets, but sometimes they'll get a little vampiric and suck the juices of the adult mites instead. They will ignore humans and instead prey on pest insects.
Also I can't believe I forgot to put this in my last ask, but would you consider demodex (the type of microscopic mite that lives in follicles on the human face) uncharismatic? I basically never see them brought up except on skincare forums.
For the purposes of this blog, yes! But that only means that they need more attention and appreciation, especially since they're so dang cute!
(Image: A demodex mite by the USDA Confocal and Electron Microscopy Unit)
Common Name: Trombidiform mites; “true mites” or “sucking mites” (only applies to the superorder Acariformes)
Suborders: 2 - Sphaerolichida and Prostigmata
(Trombidiformes contains 151 families, and Prostigmata alone contains 40 superfamilies, so it’s easier to do it this way)
Anatomy: small, round body with sucking mouthparts; most have eight legs (six in their larval stage) [the Eriophyoidea instead have four legs, all positioned at the front of a long, worm-like body (image 3)]
Diet: many species are parasites of plants or vertebrates, some are predators of smaller invertebrates, some eat fungi, plants, algae, nematodes, microbes, or the eggs of other arthropods
Habitat: worldwide; most live in soil, but species occur in nearly every habitat
Evolved in: Devonian
Do you have a favorite in Trombidiformes?
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Voting ended onSep 17, 2025
Propaganda under the cut:
While most Trombidiformes are 0.1–2 mm long, some Red Velvet Mites (family Trombidiidae) (image 1 and gif) can reach 16 mm (0.47 in). These include the African Dinothrombium tinctorum and Indian Trombidium grandissimum. Unlike many other mites, these giant red mites are not parasites as adults, though as larvae they may be parasites of insects (usually crickets). An oil made from Trombidium grandissimum is used in traditional Indian medicine, that is said to be useful for a wide range of things, including immunity related diseases and paralysis. Research is being conduced to confirm or refute whether this oil truly has potential for pharmaceutical use.
Spider mites (family Tetranychidae) (image 2) generally live on the underside of leaves of plants, and are one of the few types of arachnids (the others being spiders) that are able to spin protective silk webs, to protect not just themselves but their whole colony from predators.
The clade Hydrachnidia, known as "water mites" (image 4), are among the most abundant and diverse groups of benthic arthropods, composed of 6,000 described species from 57 families. Two genera, Parathyas (of family Hydryphantidae) and Arrenurus (of family Arrenuridae) are parasitic on mosquitoes, and have been studied for their potential use in natural mosquito biocontrol.
The herbivorous mite Floracarus perrepae, native to Australia, is known to attack and eat the invasive fern species Lygodium microphyllum, and is being considered for use as a biological pest control agent in Florida.
Mites of the family Nanorchestidae are extremists that live in soil throughout world in both hot and very cold deserts. Nanorchestes antarcticus, at a size of around a quarter of a millimeter, occurs in Antarctic soil and, to a lesser extent, on glaciers!
