Trombicula alfreddugesi

Trombicula alfreddugesi
Larval harvest mite from North America
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Subclass:	Acari
Order:	Trombidiformes
Family:	Trombiculidae
Genus:	Trombicula
Species:	T. alfreddugesi
Binomial name
Trombicula alfreddugesi (Oudemans)

Trombicula alfreddugesi, also called Eutrombicula alfreddugesi, is a species in the genus Trombicula. (Eutrombicula is a subgenus of mites in Trombicula of the family Trombiculidae.^[1])

It is the common chigger species of the United States, also sometimes called the harvest mite. Chiggers are the parasitic larval stages of these free-living mites.^[2] People in the dry Western states rarely if ever see them because the species prefers humid climates.^[3] They are commonly found in undergrowth and grassy brush areas; the larvae host on animals (e.g. reptiles, birds, and wild and domestic mammals), causing welts that can turn into dermatitis.

References