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TMEN513 Lab Exam: Ticks and Mites
Panatchaya Somaree ID:6438168

Question 1: What is the respiratory organ of the suborder Astigmata? How do they breathe?
Answer: The suborder Astigmata have no respiration opening (stigmata), therefore they have to breath through their cuticle or their skin.

Question 2: What is the difference between hard ticks and soft ticks? How you differentiate between male and female of hard tick?
Answer:
The difference of hard ticks and soft ticks are the scutum, the mouthpart, and the different appearance between both sexes.
– The hard ticks have scutum (hard plate or dorsal plate) on their body, their mouthparts projecting in front of the body, and there’s a difference between male and female.
– The soft ticks lack of scutum. They have flexible, tough, bulbous bodies that cover the mouthparts (which located ventrally) and most of the legs. Both sexes of soft ticks are similar in appearance.

The differentiation between male and female hard tick is the scutum. The scutum of the female hard tick covers only 1/3 of body, whereas the male hard tick’s scutum covers the whole body.

Question 3: Please describe how you characterize the mites (at least two groups).
Answer: The mites can be characterize based on the morphology of each species. The examples of the mites characters in each group are mentioned below:
– Itch mites or Sarcoptes scabiei (can cause scabies): very small in size with rounded body and very shorts legs. Male itch mites have caruncles (suckers) at 1st, 2nd, and 4th pair of legs, while the 3rd pair of legs end in the long hair bristle and the anus looks like bell shape (epiandrium). In female itch mites, they have the caruncles (suckers) at 1st and 2nd pair of legs, while the 3rd and 4th pair of legs end in the long hair bristle.
– House dust mites or Dermatophagoides sp.: small in size with fine/coarse wrinkle cuticle. Male house dust mites have genital organ looks like V-shaped located between last 2 pairs of legs with the anus sucker at ventral side. In female, the genital organ or vulva is in a reverse y-shape or v-shape with anus at ventral side.