Cheyletidae
A family of predatory and parasitic mites in the acarine suborder Prostigmata, with about 400 described species. Cheyletids bear a prominent gnathosoma with a strong thumb claw complex; the palpal tarsus usually carries sickle-and/or comb-like structures. [palpal]the palpal tarsus usually carries sickle-and/or comb-like structures. The dorsal setae occur in many shapes, from simple, hair-like to clavate, shell-like or staghorn-like. The family contains several important natural enemies, such as Cheyletus eruditus, which feeds on sored-food mites. This species has also been tried for the control of the snake mite,Ophionyssus natricis (Gervais) and is in commerce for that purpoae. Another promising predator is Cheletogenes ornatus, suggested for controlling Raoiella indica and other pestiferus mites in Egypt.
References
Bochkov, A.V. and Fain, A. 2001. Phylogeny and system of the Cheyletidae (Acari: Prostigmata) with special reference to their host-parasite associations. Bulletin de L’institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique 71: 5-36.
Gerson, U., Fain, A. and Smile, R.L. 1999. Further observations on the Cheyletidae (Acari), with a key to the genera of the Cheyletidae and a list of all known species in the family. Bulletin de l’Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique 69: 35-86.
Mesbah,A.E. and N.A. Omar. 2014. Predator-prey preferences and life-table-parameters of Cheletogenes ornatus (Canestrini & Fanzago) to red palm mite Raoiella indica Hirst and date scale-Insect Parlatoria blanchardii (Targ.). Acarines 8:19-23.
Negm, M.W. and Mesbah, A.E. 2014. Review of the mite family Cheyletidae (Acari: Trombidiformes: Cheyletoidea) of Egypt. International Journal of Acarology 40: 390-396.
Schilliger, L.H., Morel. D., Bonwit,t, J.H. and Marquis, O. 2013. Cheyletus eruditus (Taurrus*): an effective candidate for the biological control of the snake mite (Ophionyssus natricis). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 44: 654-9.
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