Peacock mite

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Acarina
False-colour SEM of Tuckerella, magnified 260×
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Chelicerata Class: Arachnida Order: Acarina Suborder: Eleutherengona Family: Tuckerellidae Baker & Pritchard, 1953 Genus: Tuckerella Womersley, 1940
Type species
Tuckerella ornatus (Tucker, 1926) [1]
Species
See text

The peacock mite (Tuckerella sp.) is a significant pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. It is the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae. Peacock mites are so named because of the elaborate ornamentations adorning the dorsal surface of their bodies ^[2]. They possess five to seven pairs of whip-like setae which are used to defend themselves against predators. They may also help in wind-borne dispersal.

[edit] Species

• Tuckerella anommata Smith-Meyer & Ueckermann, 1997 (South Africa)
• Tuckerella channabasavannai Mallik & Kumar, 1992 (host: Saraca indica; Andhra Pradesh)
• Tuckerella eloisae Servin & Otero, 1989 (host: Fouquieria diguetii; Mexico)
• Tuckerella filipina Corpuz-Raros, 2001 (parasite of Hydnocarpus anthelmintica; Philippines)
• Tuckerella hainanensis Lin & Fu, 1997 (host: Coffea arabica; Hainan)
• Tuckerella jianfengensis Lin & Fu, 1997 (host: Annona muricata; Jianfengling)
• Tuckerella kumaonensis Gupta, 1979 (India)
• Tuckerella litoralis Collyer, 1969
• Tuckerella nilotica Zaher & Rasmy, 1970
• Tuckerella ornatus (Tucker, 1926)
• Tuckerella xiamenensis Lin, 1982 (host: Manilkara zapota)
• Tuckerella xinglongensis Lin-Yanmou & Fu-Yuegua, 1997 (host: Polyscias fruticosa var. plumata (Araliaceae), Hainan)

[edit] References

1. ^ Index of the Described Animalia of the World: Tuckerellidae. Texas A&M University.
2. ^ "Peacock mites" Tuckerellidae. United States Department of Agriculture (2005-09-28).