Polydiscia deuterosminthurus

Polydiscia deuterosminthurus is a species of mite recently discovered in the autonomous community of Navarre in Spain.

Polydiscia deuterosminthurus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Trombidiformes
Family:	Tanaupodidae
Genus:	Polydiscia
Species:	P. deuterosminthurus
Binomial name
Polydiscia deuterosminthurus Baquero, Moraza & Jordana, 2003

Only the six-legged larval stage is so far known. This lives as a parasite on the springtail Deuterosminthurus bisetosus, which was discovered at the same time as the parasite. The association between the two species only seems to last for a few weeks in May and June. Both creatures appear to be entirely restricted to a single host plant at this stage of their life cycle: the broom Genista hispanica.

These red mites are tiny, less than 0.3 mm in length but are huge in comparison to their hosts, averaging a third of the length of Deuterosminthurus bisetosus, to which they attach piggyback-fashion, the jaws embedded in the joint between head and prothorax. The remainder of the life cycle of this mite remains a total mystery.

References

• E. Baquero, M. L. Moraza and R. Jordana (2003). "A new species of Polydiscia (Acari, Prostigmata, Tanaupodidae) with reference to its host: a new species of Deuterosminthurus (Collembola, Symphypleona, Bourletiellidae)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 188: 1–16. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.188.1.1. hdl:10171/27533.