176 Acarology 



or sticks, and are highly resistant to heat, drought, or desiccating 

 winds. Moisture and sunshine are necessary for the hatching of these 

 over-summering eggs. The aduU is a soft-bodied mite whose front legs 

 act as sensory organs. The leaf surfaces are broken by the rasping 

 mouth parts and the sap is sucked up. The adult lives from twenty-five 

 to fifty days and is killed off by heat and drought. The mite prefers 

 light, well-drained soils. 



Very few species are known. Of these Linopodes antennaepes Banks 

 (?possibly L. motatorius L. ) is a pest of mushrooms. This long-legged 

 mite damages the mushrooms by chewing off the feeder roots of the 

 growing plant, causing the stems to constrict at the base and injuring 

 or killing the developing mushroom. The mites are found on or near 

 the surface of the mushroom beds, and under boards and leaves out 

 of doors. The eggs are laid in groups in the soil; they hatch in a short 

 time into larvae which are similar to the adults except for the number 

 of legs, genitalia, and other small differences; nymphs possess eight 

 legs and are similar to the adult forms. The mite is found in the United 

 States and in Europe. 



Eupodes species are remarkable jumpers and the fourth pair of legs 

 are enlarged for this purpose. They are usually to be found in moss 

 and under leaves. 



Penthaleus major (Duges) has been reported attacking peas, clover, 

 oats, wild mustard, and lupine in California, barley in Arizona, and 

 wheat in Oklahoma and Texas. It is a pest of pasture and forage crops 

 in Australia and South Africa, as well as of lettuce and peas in France. 



Halotydeus destructor (Tucker) is a serious pest of vegetable and 

 leguminous crops in Australia and South Africa. 



References: 



Baker, E. W. 1946. New species of North and Central American mites of 

 the family Penthaleidae (Acarina). J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 36(12) :421- 

 425. 



Solomon, M. E. 1937. Experiments on the effects of temperature and hu- 

 midity on the survival of Halotydeus destructor (Tucker), Acarina 

 fam. Penthaleidae. Austral. J. Expt. Biol, and Med. Sci. 15:1-16. 



. 1937. Behaviour of the red-legged earthmite, Halotydeus destructor, 



in relation to environmental conditions. J. Anim. Ecol. 6(2) : 340-361. 



Thor, Sig. 1934. Einzelne neue, besonders Norwegische Eupodes Arten 

 mit einigen alteren Arten verglichen. Zool. Anz. 105:201-215. 



Womersley, H. 1941. The red-legged earth-mite (Acarina, Penthaleidae) 

 of Australia. Trans. Roy. Soc. South Australia 65(2) : 292-294. 



