| Cereal rust mite | |
|---|---|
| Abacarus hystrix (Cereal rust mite) |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Subclass: | Acari |
| Superorder: | Acariformes |
| Order: | Prostigmata |
| Suborder: | Eupodina |
| Superfamily: | Eriophyoidea |
| Family: | Eriophyidae |
| Genus: | Abacarus |
| Species: | A. hystrix |
| Binomial name | |
| Abacarus hystrix Nalepa, 1896 |
|
Abacarus hystrix, commonly known as the cereal rust mite or grain rust mite, is a species of mite belonging to the family Eriophyidae. It feeds on various grasses and is considered a serious pest of cereal and hay crops both from the physical damage it causes and from being the vector of two viral diseases, Agropyron mosaic and Ryegrass mosaic.
This is a tiny white, yellow or orange mite, less than 1 mm in length. Adults are slender and have only 4 legs, all at the front of the body. Many generations can be produced in a single year: At a temperature of 20 °C, a newly laid egg can become a sexually mature adult in just 16–18 days.