ABSTRACT
In addition to the plant-feeding mites described in Chapters 6 to 10, several other mite families are associated with plants. Not all are pests; some are bene…cial, and some are rare or limited in their distribution (Evans et al. 1961, Krantz 1971). The Tetranychidae, the predatory Phytoseiidae (discussed in Chapter 12), Eriophyoidea, Tarsonemidae, and Tenuipalpidae are the most often encountered mites on plants; however, you may also see species belonging to the Anystidae, Tuckerellidae, Stigmaeidae, Tydeidae, Acaridae, Hypoaspidae, Hemisarcoptidae, and Oribatida (Gerson and Smiley 1990). A brief overview is given of these families from the point of view of their pest status in agricultural crops.
