Hypoaspis miles
Encyclopedia
Hypoaspis miles is a small (0.5 mm) light brown mite that lives in the top ½ in layer of soil. As a natural predator of fungus gnat
Fungus gnat
Fungus gnats are small, dark, short-lived flies, of the families Sciaridae, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Bolitophilidae and Mycetophilidae , sometimes placed in the superfamily Mycetophiloidea, whose larvae feed on plant roots or fungi and aid in the decomposition of organic matter...

 pupa
Pupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...

e and snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...

 parasite Riccardoella aspersa it is used by gardeners for biological pest control
Biological pest control
Biological control of pests in agriculture is a method of controlling pests that relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms...

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Hypoaspis miles and the similar species, H. aculiefer are soil-dwelling, predatory mites. Hypoaspis mites feed on fungus gnats, springtails, thrips pupae, and other small insects in the soil. The mite is 0.5 mm (1/50 inch) long and light-brown in color. It inhabits the top 1/2 inch layer of soil. Females lay eggs in the soil which hatch into nymphs in 1 to 2 days. Nymphs develop into adults in 5 to 6 days. The lifecycle takes approximately 7 to 11 days. Both nymphs and adults feed on soil-inhabiting pests, consuming up to 5 prey per day. They may survive by feeding on algae and/or plant debris when insects aren't available. Both males and females are present, but males are smaller and rarely seen.

Hypoaspis is well adapted to moist conditions in greenhouses in a variety of growing media, but does not tolerate standing water. Hypoaspis is currently used in greenhouses for control of fungus gnats. It feeds on fungus gnat eggs and small larvae and is most effective when applied before fungus gnat populations become established or when populations are low. It has been successfully used in bedding plant production, potted plants, and poinsettia stock plants. Hypoaspsis will also attack thrips pupae in the soil, but cannot be relied on alone for thrips control in a commercial greenhouse. It may, however, enchance biological control when used in conjunction with predators feeding on thrips on the foliage. In small-scale experiments this mite reduced emergence of adult thrips to about 30% of that in controls. The mite comes in a pasteurized peat mixture for commercial use.

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