Sarcoptes
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File:Scabies human skin pruritis.jpg
Scabies on human skin resulting in pruritus - Wikimedia Commons
Sarcoptes mites are burrowing mites of dogs and foxes. They Cause Sarcoptic Mange
Recognition
- Small, round mite
- Short legs
- Project only a short distance from body margin
- Dorsal spines
- Arranged in rows
- Terminal anus
- Male is about 250μm in length and the female about 400-430μm in length
Life cycle
- 3 week life cycle
- Female lays eggs in epidermis in an egg laying pocket
- Female feeds on liquid oozing from damaged tissue
- The eggs hatch in 1 week
- 6 legged larvae released which crawl to skin surface
- The larvae then burrow back into the epidermis into moulting pockets
- Larvae moult to become 8 legged nymphs
- Nymphs moult twice before becoming adults
- Adult males emerge and look for females to mate
Cause Sarcoptic Mange