Hello bug lovers and welcome to another episode of Arthro-Pod! Today, we're going to the world of mites, specifically, we will talking all about the pyemotes itch mite. This teeny tiny biting pest has been making a splash in the news recently, with lots of people in Chicago and other Illinois city's complaining about their painful nibbles. We'll talk all about the seemingly mysterious origins of the oak leaf itch mite, how entomologists in the US were first introduced to it, and why it's making headlines in 2024. Tune in, we don't bit even if the mites do!
Itch mites in action, photo by Steve Jacobs, Penn State.
Show Notes
Mike talked about elm zig zag sawfly in our Catching up part
of the podcast. If you want to learn more about the pest there is an upcoming
webinar presented by Penn State University.
FREE Webinar on Sept 9: Frontiers in Forest Health: Elm
Zigzag Sawfly
Link to Register: https://extension.psu.edu/frontiers-in-forest-health-elm-zigzag-sawfly
If you want to read more about the non-native forest pest
and see some good images, check out the article by Dr. David Coyle from
Entomology Today in 2023
https://entomologytoday.org/2023/07/20/here-we-go-again-meet-the-elm-zigzag-sawfly-another-non-native-forest-pest/
Oak itch mites in the news
https://www.8newsnow.com/news/national-news/mystery-bug-bites-in-chicago-area-may-be-connected-to-cicadas/
Oak Itch Mites References
- Cloyd, R. A. 2019. Oak leaf itch mite. K-State Research and
Extension. MF2806.
https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/download/oak-leaf-itch-mite_MF2806 - Broce, A. B., Zurek, L., Kalisch, J. A., Brown, R., Keith,
D. L., Gordon, D., Goedeke, J. Welbourn, C., Moser, J., Ochoa, R.,
Azziz-Baumgartner, E., Yip, F., and Weber, J. 2006. Pyemotes herfsi (Acari:
Pyemotidae), a mite new to North America as the cause of bite outbreaks. 43(3):
610-3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16739423/ - Glosner, S. E., and Kang, E. 2008. Pyemotes, the mysterious
itch mite. U.S. Pharmacist. 33(5): 59-64.
https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/pyemotes-the-mysterious-itch-mite - Grob, M., Dorn, K., and Lautenschlager, S. 1998.
Getreidekrätze Eine kleine Epidemie durch Pyemotes spezies Eine kleine Epidemie
durch Pyemotes spezies. Hautarzt. 49(11):838-43.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s001050050835 - Jacobs, S. 2015. Oak leaf itch mite. PennState Extension.
https://extension.psu.edu/oak-leaf-itch-mite - Keith, D. L., Kalish, J. A., and Broce, A. R. 2005. Pyemotes
itch Mites. UNL Extension NF05-653.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhist/1737/ - Krantz, G. W. and Walter, D. E. (editors). 2009. A Manual of
Acarology (3rd ed.) Texas Tech University Press. Pp. 78, 79, 314, 315. - Kritsky, G. 2021. One for the books: The 2021 emergence of
the periodical cicada Brood X. American Entomologist, 67(4):40-46.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ae/tmab059 - Talley, J. 2015. Finally found: Oak leaf itch mite. Oklahoma
State University Extension Pest e-alerts.
https://shareok.org/bitstream/handle/11244/332675/oksa_pestealerts_v14n44.pdf?sequence=1 - Zaborski, E. R. 2007. Outbreak of human pruritic
dermatitis in Chicago, Illinois caused by an itch mite, Pyemotes herfsi
(Oudemans, 1946) (Acarina: Heterostigmata: Pyemotidae).
https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/18258
The life and times of an itch mite, credit to Broce et al. 2006
