Search results
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.
- Extension Entomology
There have been four major infestations of the oak leaf itch...
- Extension Entomology
3 lis 2016 · There have been four major infestations of the oak leaf itch mite in Kansas: 2004, 2009, 2015, and 2016. The oak leaf itch mite is associated with the oak marginal leaf fold gall (Figure 1), which is produced by a midge gall-maker ( Macrodiplosis erubescens ).
Although the oak leaf itch mite’s life is heavily shrouded in mystery, there are a few things we know. Firstly, the name of the mite comes from the oak margin gall, which is caused by another insect (a midge) that the mite feeds on.
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 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.
Pyemotes herfsi, also known as the oak leaf gall mite or itch mite, is an ectoparasitic mite identified in Europe and subsequently found in India, Asia, and the United States. The mite parasitizes a variety of insect hosts and bites humans, causing red, itchy, and painful wheals (welts).
In the Midwest, oak leaf itch mites emerge in late July and continue through the summer. Bite problems intensify in the fall with increased gardening activities, mainly the han- dling of mite-infested leaves (Figure I). Figure I. Infested oak leaf.
