''Aculops'' is a genus of mites that belongs to the family

Eriophyidae Eriophyidae is a family of more than 200 genera of mites, which live as plant parasites, commonly causing galls or other damage to the plant tissues and hence known as gall mites. About 3,600 species have been described, but this is probably l ...

that live as plant parasites. Some species, such as ''

Aculops lycopersici ''Aculops lycopersici'', also known as the tomato russet mite, is a species of mite that belongs to the family Eriophyidae. ''Aculops lycopersici'' is an important pest of tomato plants. It was first described by A. M. Massee in 1937 in Australi ...

'', are severe crop or ornamental pests, while ''

Aculops ailanthii ''Aculops ailanthii'', the Ailanthus leafcurl mite, is a species of eriophyid mite that infects trees-of-heaven ('' Ailanthus altissima''). Very little is known about this species. ''A. ailanthii'' has been proposed as a potential biocontrol alon ...

'' is being considered as biocontrol for the extremely invasive

tree-of-heaven ''Ailanthus altissima'' , commonly known as tree of heaven, ailanthus, varnish tree, or in Chinese as ''chouchun'' (), is a deciduous tree in the family Simaroubaceae. It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other membe ...

in North America. Very little is known about this genus, with new species constantly being discovered even in well covered regions such as New Zealand.

Selected species

*''

'' (Lin-Fuping, Jin-Changle & Kuang-Haiyua, 1997) - ailanthus leafcurl mite *''

Aculops cannabicola ''Aculops'' is a genus of mites that belongs to the family Eriophyidae that live as plant parasites. Some species, such as ''Aculops lycopersici'', are severe crop or ornamental pests, while ''Aculops ailanthii'' is being considered as biocontro ...

'' (Farkas, 1960) – hemp russet mite *''

Aculops fuchsiae ''Aculops fuchsiae'', commonly known as fuchsia gall mite, is a species of mite in the family Eriophyidae. It feeds on ''Fuchsia'' plants, causing distortion of growing shoots and flowers. It is regarded as a horticultural pest. Description ''A ...

'' (Keifer, 1972) – fuchsia gall mite *''

'' (Massee, 1937) – tomato russet mite *''

Aculops rhois ''Aculops rhois'', the poison ivy gall mite, is a species of Eriophyid mite found in North America. They form galls in poison ivy as well as other members of North American '' Toxicodendron'' and some species of ''Rhus'' (including fragrant sum ...

'' (Stebbins, 1909) - poison ivy gall mite *''

Aculops tetanothrix ''Aculops tetanothrix'', also known as the willow gall mite, is a species of mite that belongs to the family Eriophydae. The mite is yellow, with brown or sometimes orange. ''Aculops tetanothrix'' creates galls on '' Salix'' (willow) species. ...

'' (Nalepa, 1889) – willow gall mite

References

External links

* * Eriophyidae Trombidiformes genera {{Trombidiformes-stub