The harvest mite, Trombicula autumnalis, is a species of mite

Mite

Mites, along with ticks, are small arthropods belonging to the subclass Acari and the class Arachnida. The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called acarology.-Diversity and systematics:...

 of the family Trombiculidae

Trombiculidae

Trombiculidae is a family of mites called trombiculid mites Trombiculidae is a family of mites called trombiculid mites Trombiculidae is a family of mites called trombiculid mites (also called berry bugs; harvest mites; red bugs; scrub-itch mites; and aoutas.   In their larval stage, those...

. Their larvae live parasitically; they infect all domestic mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

s, humans, and some ground-nesting bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

s.

Description

The larvae are normally orange or red in color with only six legs, but develop eight legs by nymph stage. The larvae are only up to 0.2 millimetre (0.0078740157480315 in) in size. The adult mites are about 1 mm (0.0393700787401575 in) long.

Life cycle

The eggs are laid in damp soil. After hatching, the larvae climbs blades of grass and wait for a potential host.

With their "blade-like chelicerae

Chelicerae

The chelicerae are mouthparts of the Chelicerata, an arthropod subphylum that includes arachnids, Merostomata , and Pycnogonida . Chelicerae are pointed appendages which are used to grasp food, and are found in place of the chewing mandibles most other arthropods have...

", they attach themselves to the host and feed on its tissues. After sucking, which lasts several days, they fall off and develop over three stages of nymph to adult mites.