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17 wrz 2024 · After searching for answers from our K-State entomologists, we suspected a small mite called a hay itch mite. Sometime later, the oak leaf itch mite, Pyemotes herfsi, was deemed to be responsible for the widespread outbreaks of itching bites in various Midwestern communities.
- Extension Entomology
Oak leaf itch mites emerge from the galls and fall from oak...
- Extension Entomology
The oak leaf itch mite is a close relative of the straw itch mite, Pyemotes tritici, which also bites humans and may have originated in Europe. The oak leaf itch mite was first detected in the Midwest in 2004 and responsible for wide-spread occurences of itching bites from 2014 through 2017.
3 lis 2016 · Oak leaf itch mites emerge from the galls and fall from oak trees (primarily pin oak) from late July through fall. As many as 370,000 mites per day can fall from oak trees (yikes!). The mites bite anyone under oak trees with bite marks appearing 10 to 16 hours after exposure.
25 wrz 2024 · People have not forgotten the 2016 outbreak of oak leaf itch mites. This itch mite is the pest that caused your friends and neighbors to hibernate indoors until a hard freeze brought the apocalypse to an end.
21 lut 2024 · Scientifically known as Pyemotes herfsi, oak leaf itch mites are nearly invisible to the naked eye (0.2 mm in length), but they are responsible for mite bite outbreaks in several states...
The most recent research indicates that in lieu of the oak margin gall, the itch mite will feed on a wide variety of insect hosts. Furniture beetle larvae, rice and granary weevils, oriental fruit moths, pine tip moths and hackberry nipple gall psyllids are all victims of the mite.
Unlike chigger bites, which are commonly restricted to areas under tight clothing such as belts, underwear or socks, oak leaf itch mite bites appear where clothing is loose, usually at the neck, shoulder and chest. Bites are found on the upper body because itch mites drop from canopies of infested trees.
