How long do eriophyoid mites live?

Abstract

The eriophyoid mites (Acari: Eriophyoidea) are extremely small, highly specialized and obligately phytophagous, and ~ 80% of the ~ 5,000 known species are monophagous. They include pests of more than 50 important food and industrial crops and ornamental plants. Conversely, other species have been investigated for their potential role in the biological control of weeds. In this literature review, the data on the development time, adult longevity and lifespan of eriophyoid species generated in 74 studies from 1930 to 2021 was compiled. The eriophyoids were from three families, Eriophyidae, Diptilomiopidae and Phytoptidae, 24 genera and 47 species that included 43 eriophyids, two phytoptids and two diptilomiopids. The most studied genus was Aceria (13 species), followed by Aculus (4) and Calacarus (3). The host plants were in a range of vegetative forms, including grasses, a climber, shrubs and trees, in different families that included Poaceae, Rosaceae and Rutaceae. Almost all the investigations were carried out in laboratory settings under numerous combinations of species, gender, diet/host plant, temperature, relative humidity and photoperiod. These variables all affected the development time, adult longevity and lifespan of eriophyoid mites, with temperature consistently a major influence and relative humidity consistently important. Male life stages were always shorter than female life stages. Phyllocoptruta oleivora (Ashmead) males had the shortest lifespan of 7.1 d at 32 °C on green orange fruit and Aculops lycopersici (Massee) females had the longest lifespan of 46.4 d at 11 °C on young tomato leaves. Biological studies on the duration of their life stages are required to develop models that predict the dynamics of eriophyoid populations in the field to support IPM programs and organic farming. Moreover, these studies are becoming increasingly valuable as globalization and climate change facilitate the spread of invasive eriophyoid mite species.