Ultra-structural studies of eriophyoid mites

The Eriophyoidea are important plant and agricultural mite pests worldwide, but their small size, usually less than 200 μm, make them difficult to study using light microscopy.  We used Low Temperature Scanning Electron Microscopy (LTSEM) to systematically study ultra-structural morphology of Eriophyoid mites including the integument, annuli, idiosomal setae, gnathosoma, prodorsal shield apodemes, leg chaetotaxy, membranous tips of the empodial claw, non-setiferous structures, solenidia, spermatophores, male and female genital shields, and anal lobe.