Pyemotes herfsi (Acari: Pyemotidae), a mite new to North America as the cause of bite outbreaks

High incidences of red, itching, and painful welts on people in the midwestern United States led to the discovery of a European species of mite, Pyemotesherfsi (Oudemans) ( Acari: Pyemotidae), preying on gall-making midgelarvae on oak leaves. The mites’ great reproductive potential, small size, and high capacity for dispersal by wind make them difficult to control or avoid.