Life stages of mites

Mites start as an egg and then may pass through up to six instars: prelarva, larva, protonymph, deutonymph, tritonymph, and adult. These developmental stages may look different or may be omitted depending on the mite group. All mites have an adult stage; the female is the dispersal stage in some Mesostigmata and Prostigmata. Deutonymphs may also be the dispersal stage in Mesostigmata and Astigmata. The deutonymph is unspecialized or slightly specialized in Mesostigmata.

In Astigmata, the larva, protonymph, tritonymph, and adult are usually feeding ontogenetic stages, though exceptions occur, while the deutonymph serves for dispersal or survival in severe conditions, lacks mouthparts, and cannot feed (though non-oral feeding is possible in several taxa). Deutonymphs have many morphological specializations for phoresy, and they are strikingly different from other life stages.

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