It has been identified on tomato leaves (Solanum lycopersicum).
Dear Ioana,
With tarsonemids, I find it hard to be sure from photos (a good view of body setae, as well as legs, is useful). But it looks like a Tarsonemus, and my #1 suspicion would be Tarsonemus confusus. It's widespread, has turned up on tomato before (although it probably occurs on any plant it cares to wander on) and seems to have the general appearance (apodeme structure, for instance).
Kaliszewski (1993) - Key to the Palearctic of Genus Tarsonemus [sic] - wouldn't be a bad place to start. Note that males can vary in some respects, especially leg IV size, so it's best to use the females for diagnostics. Garga et al. (1997) deals with this phenomenon:
https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/212f6d97-7f04-46cb-8428-b243dcb99c13/view/4aec2a9f-2ce8-4c53-9cd6-7ad5c712f5da/Acarologia_38_1997_369.pdf
Best wishes, Owen.
The female has a divided sejugal apodeme, strong small pharynx and a poststernal apodeme vestigial with like M shape apodeme IV,'s; the male could have the long leg IV or short leg IV,. Please, see the article of Dr. Lindquist on Tarsonemus waitei (1978). It is an excellent paper for comparison. Compare the drawing and check the tegula.
Thansk Ron. As he mentioned, T. waitei is likely. If it's part of that species group, then see also Kim et al. (1998) Description of Tarsonemus parawaitei, a new species of Tarsonemidae (Acari: Heterostigmata) associated with orchard and ornamental plants in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Dear colleagues,
Thank you very much for your help. I started collecting samples of phytophagous mites a year ago, and am trying to take the first steps in identifying tarsonemid species. Any help in this regard is very important to me. Until this moment, I started to gather literature for this group of mites, but even here I am just at the beginning of the road. Thank you again. Any help in identifying the species, any suggestion in using certain papers for identification for me is important and makes my work easier.
All the best,
Cristina
Dear Cristina,
After finishing your slides identification, I recommend you to contact Dr. Magowski from Poland for confirmation. He is a well-known specialist on tarsonomid mites with extensive researches on the genus Tarsonemus. Also, he may have good materials collected by his late colleague, Marek Kaliszewski, in his office to compare the specimens with.
All the best,
Ali