TROMBIDIIDAE OF MINNESOTA 119 
longer in proportion to the size of the body than in the adult, tarsi I 
slender, two and one-half times as long as broad. 
Larva, unengorged. Color, scarlet, size 0.20 mm long by 0.11 mm 
wide, oval in outline, wider in front. On the anterior end of the dor- 
sal side is a large, more or less pentagonal chitinous shield, which 
completely hides the mouth parts beneath, and is more than a third as 
long as the body. Four pairs of spines are present on this shield, 
one of extreme length at each posterior angle. Posterior to it is a stout, 
wide, quadrilateral shield, also bearing four pairs of plumose hairs. 
Laterad of each posterior angle of the anterior shield is a pair of eyes. 
Abdomen with several plumose hairs—Ventral side, with the coxae 
large and contiguous. Opening of tracheal system between coxae | 
and IJ. Each coxa has a short stout bifid spine near the insertion of 
the legs. Mandibles sabre-like projecting from a tubular sheath be- 
neath the dorsal shield, a pair of heavy clavate appendages on the 
ventral side of this sheath. Palpi short, segment IV with two claws, 
the terminal one larger and bifid. Thumb short and bears several 
stout hairs on its tip. Abdomen with stout plumose hairs. Legs stout, 
tarsi slender, claws long and slender, a tactile hair arising between 
the claws and extending dorsad of them. Tarsus III with one very 
long curved claw, the second claw short and thick and raised dorsally, 
ventrad below the long claw projects a stout heavily plumed pul- 
villus-like tactile hair. 
Larva, engorged. Reaches a size of 1.22 to 1.30 mm long by 0.53 
to 0.60 mm wide, losing all resemblance to its previous form. Body 
widely rounded at both ends, and somewhat constricted at the middle. 
Integument with fine transverse striations—Coxae I and II remain in 
contact, but tarsus III becomes separated with the expansion of the 
body as do also the two dorsal shields. 
Eggs. Spherical, outer shell smooth and shining, color flame 
scarlet, 0.16 mm in diameter. 
Adults taken at many points in Hennepin, Ramsey, and Otter- 
tail counties, Minnesota. It is apparently present throughout all the 
grasshopper areas of the state. 
The adults of this mite are found on or in the soil in open ground 
during the early spring, the first warm days bringing them out of their 
winter hiding places. They start immediately in search of grasshopper 
egg pods. Riley records that in locust breeding grounds they may be 
so abundant as to give the soil a scarlet appearance. In grasshopper 
areas in Minnesota they may be so numerous in ordinary years that 
several hundred can be collected in three or four hours. During locust 
