The mites and ticks, order Acarina or Acari, belong to the Arachnida and are among the most diverse and successful of all the invertebrate groups. They have exploited an incredible array of habitats and because of their small size (some are microscopic) most go totally unnoticed. Many live freely in the soil or water, but there is also a large number of species that live as parasites on plants or animals.

Mites
Peacock mite Tuckerella nilotica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Arachnida Order: Acari Leach, 1817
Families
Tetranychidae- Spider mites Eriophyidae- Gall mites Trombidiidae- Velvet mites Sarcoptidae- Sarcoptic Mange mites

Some of the plant pests include the so called Spider mites (family Tetranychidae), Thread-Footed mites (family Tarsonemidae), and the Gall mites (family Eriophyidae). Among the species that attack animals there are members of the Sarcoptic Mange mites (family Sarcoptidae), which burrow under the skin. Perhaps the most well known, though, is the house dust mite (family Pyroglyphidae).

Insects may also have parasitic mites. Examples are Varroa destructor which attaches to the body of the honeybee and Acarapis woodi, which lives in the tracheae of honeybees.

There are 45,000 different types of mites. Scientists belive that we have only found 5% of the species of mites. Mites have been around for 400 million years.

The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called Acarology.

Cite: Wikipedia