Chiggers are the larval stage of mites in the family Trombiculidae, found in grassy, wooded and humid environments worldwide, where they climb onto passing hosts such as humans, birds and other mammals from vegetation. Unlike many parasites, the larva does not feed on blood but instead injects digestive enzymes into the skin that break down cells for it to consume, causing an intensely itchy welt at the feeding site, and once it has fed it drops off the host and molts into a free-living, non-parasitic nymph and adult.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) System (Realm) Living or Extinct Comparison
CITES Appendix Scientific Name Connections
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Wikipedia: TrombiculaDistribution: United StatesQuote, Distribution: United States
In the United States, trombicula are found mostly in the southeast, the south, and the Midwest.
Sources
1. Wikidata: Chigger
- Wikidata Q14830884, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
- Wikipedia 'Trombicula': the six-legged parasitic larva feeds on a large variety of creatures, including humans
- Wikipedia 'Trombicula': in the postlarval stage, they are not parasitic and feed on plant materials
- Child Taxon Of: Acariformes, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
View the Source2. GBIF Species API
3. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ7597354, descriptionView the Source 4. UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat): Species+: Arachnida
UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat)Species+ taxon_concepts, id 27Quote, Species+ taxon_concepts, id 27
"cites_listing":"II/III/NC","eu_listing":"B/C/NC","higher_taxa":{"kingdom":"Animalia","phylum":"Arthropoda","class":"Arachnida","order":null,"family":null},"synonyms":[],"common_names":[{"name":"Scorpions And Spiders","language":"EN"},{"name":"Araignées","language":"FR"},{"name":"Arañas","language":"ES"},{"name":"蛛形纲","language":"ZH"}],"cites_listings":[]
5. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Trombiculidae
GBIF Backbone TaxonomyTaxon recordQuote, Taxon record
"canonicalName": "Trombiculidae"
Wikipedia: Trombicula
diet-classification (MediaWiki batch-API article extract states it plainly)Quote, diet-classification (MediaWiki batch-API article extract states it plainly)
The six-legged parasitic larva feeds on a large variety of creatures, including humans, rabbits, wallabies, toads, box turtles, quail, and even some insects.
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