Abacarus hystrix

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.

References

• Abacarus hystrix at GrainGenes
• Cereal rust mite fact sheet from Penn State