Stylostome
Guides
Arrenurus
water mites
Arrenurus is the largest genus of water mites, comprising approximately 950 species with cosmopolitan distribution in lentic freshwater habitats. Adults are heavily sclerotized, predatory, and exhibit marked sexual dimorphism—males possess diagnostic caudal modifications used in mating, while female taxonomy remains problematic. The life cycle includes seven stages: egg, inactive prelarva, parasitic larva, protonymph, deutonymph, tritonymph, and adult. Larvae are ectoparasites of aquatic insects, particularly Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), but also Diptera and Coleoptera, utilizing hosts for both nutrition and phoretic dispersal.
Erythraeidae
Erythraeidae is a family of predatory mites in the order Trombidiformes. Adults are free-living, fast-running predators with long legs adapted for pursuit. Larvae are ectoparasites of various arthropods, including harvestmen, spiders, bees, and grasshoppers, using a stylostome to feed on host body fluids. These mites are typically oval, relatively large for mites, reddish in color, and densely hairy. The family belongs to the superfamily Erythraeoidea within the diverse group Parasitengona, which includes velvet mites, chiggers, and water mites.