{{Short description|Species of mite}} {{Speciesbox | image = Rust Mite, Aceria anthocoptes.jpg | image_caption = ''Aceria anthocoptes'' magnified 1,400× | genus = Aceria | species = anthocoptes | authority = (Nalepa, 1892) }}

'''''Aceria anthocoptes''''', also known as the '''russet mite''',<ref name="Magud">{{cite journal |author1=Biljana D. Magud |author2=Ljubiša Ž. Stanisavljević |author3=Radmila U. Petanović |year=2007 |title=Morphological variation in different populations of ''Aceria anthocoptes'' (Acari: Eriophyoidea) associated with the Canada thistle, ''Cirsium arvense'', in Serbia |journal=Experimental and Applied Acarology |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=173–183 |doi=10.1007/s10493-007-9085-y |pmid=17611806}}</ref> '''rust mite''',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://emu.arsusda.gov/typesof/pages/rust.html |title=The rust mite (''Aceria anthocoptes'') |access-date=January 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527082235/http://emu.arsusda.gov/typesof/pages/rust.html |archive-date=May 27, 2011 }}</ref> '''thistle mite''' or the '''Canada thistle mite''',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://esa.confex.com/esa/2006/techprogram/paper_25530.htm |title=Biology of the Canada thistle mite, ''Aceria anthocoptes'' (Acari: Eriophyidae), in Northern Colorado |author=Richard Hansen |work=Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting |year=2006}}</ref> is a species of mite that belongs to the family Eriophyidae. It was first described by Alfred Nalepa in 1892.

''Aceria anthocoptes'' can be found on ''Cirsium arvense'', the Canada thistle, and is a good potential biological pest control agent of this invasive weed.<ref name="Magud"/>

==Description== [[File:Cirsium arvense with Bees Richard Bartz.jpg|thumb|right|upright|''Aceria anthocoptes'' is considered to be a good potential biological control agent for the invasive weed Canada thistle (''Cirsium arvense'')]] Female specimens have a somewhat fusiform shape, and range in colour. Depending upon the stage of development, both nymphs and adults can appear white, tan, pink, or yellow.<ref name=autogenerated5>Rachel Winston, Rich Hansen, Mark Schwarzlander, Eric Coombs, Carol Bell Randall, Rodney Lym (2008), [http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/crissp/CRISSP%20pdf/ThistleBook.pdf ''Biology and Biological Control of Exotic True Thistles''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718074852/http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/crissp/CRISSP%20pdf/ThistleBook.pdf |date=July 18, 2011 }}, USDA Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team</ref> They are approximately 170&nbsp;μm long and 65&nbsp;μm wide, and are thus almost invisible to the naked eye.<ref name="Davis">{{cite web |author=Ryan S. Davis |url=http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/eriophyid-mites2010.pdf |title=Eriophyid Mites: bud, blister, gall, and rust mites |work=Utah Pests Fact Sheet |publisher=Utah State University Extension and Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Laboratory |date=October 2010 |access-date=January 26, 2011}}</ref> Chelicerae are about 20&nbsp;μm long, and are almost straight.<ref name="Magud"/><ref name="Davis"/>

==Distribution== ''Aceria anthocoptes'' is a 'free-living' eriophyid. Because of its life history and its morphology, this mite is considered to be a vagrant species.<ref name="Rancic">{{cite journal |author1=Dragana Rancic |author2=Branka Stevanovic |author3=Radmila Petanović |author4=Biljana Magud |author5=Ivo Tosevski |author6=André Gassmann |title=Anatomical injury induced by the eriophyid mite ''Aceria anthocoptes'' on the leaves of ''Cirsium arvense'' |journal=Experimental and Applied Acarology |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=243–253 |year=2006 |pmid=16612668 |doi=10.1007/s10493-006-0013-3}}</ref>

This mite can be found in a number of European countries and in the United States.<ref name="Magud"/> As of 2001, it is known to exist in 21 countries.<ref name="Rancic"/> It is the only species of eriophyid mite that has been found on ''Cirsium arvense'' throughout the world.<ref name="Rancic"/>

===In the United States=== This species is found in the following states:<ref>{{cite journal |author=L. Smith |author2=E. de Lillo |author3=J. W. Amrine Jr. |year=2010 |title=Effectiveness of eriophyid mites for biological control of weedy plants and challenges for future research |journal=Experimental and Applied Acarology |volume=51 |issue=1–3 |pages=115–149 |doi=10.1007/s10493-009-9299-2 |pmid=19760101}} Also included in {{cite book|editor=Edward A. Ueckermann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GSEkjCrPipQC&pg=PA122 |title=Eriophyoid Mites: Progress And Prognoses |isbn=978-90-481-9561-9 |year=2010| publisher=Springer }}</ref> {{div col|colwidth=13em}} *California *Colorado *Delaware *Kansas *Maryland *Minnesota *Montana *Nebraska *North Dakota *Oregon *Pennsylvania *South Dakota *Virginia *Washington *West Virginia *Wyoming {{div col end}}

==Behavior and life cycle== These mites produce multiple generations each year, and probably overwinter on root or the root buds.<ref name=autogenerated5 />

This mite normally spends the winter as fertilized female adults, remaining under bud scales of the thistle. They emerge in the spring.<ref name="Davis"/> They continuously reproduce during times other than winter, creating a new generation every two to three weeks.<ref name="Davis"/> ''Aceria anthocoptes'' mite feeds by sucking the contents of the leaf cells.<ref name=autogenerated5 />

==Use as a biological control agent== ''Aceria anthocoptes'' is considered to be a good potential biological control agent for ''Cirsium arvense'', the Canada thistle. It damages both the epidermal cells and deeper mesophyll layers, on both the upper and lower surfaces of this invasive weed. The result is visible deformation and folding of the leaf blade, with a curling of the leaf edges. The leaves become russeted and bronzed, and gradually dry out.<ref name="Rancic"/>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading== * {{cite journal |author=A. Nalepa |year=1892 |title=Les acarocécidies de Lorraine (Suite) |language=French |journal=Feuille |series=3 |volume=22 |issue=258 |pages=12}} * {{cite journal |author1=R. Ochoa |author2=E. F. Erbe |author3=W. P. Wergin |author4=C. Frye |author5=J. Lydon |year=2001 |title=The presence of ''Aceria anthocoptes'' (Nalepa) (Acari: Eriophyidae) on ''Cirsium'' species in the United States |journal=International Journal of Acarology |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=179–187 |doi=10.1080/01647950108684251 |bibcode=2001IJAca..27..179O }}

==External links== {{Portal|Arthropods}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20101007191254/http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/acari/content/eriophyoidea.html USDA video of ''Aceria anthocoptes''] * {{Commons-inline}}

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Category:Eriophyidae Category:Animals described in 1892 Category:Arachnids of Europe Category:Arachnids of North America Category:Invasive plants biological control agents Category:Taxa named by Alfred Nalepa