There are many kinds of mites. In fact, mites are second only to insects in the number of species alive on Earth today. Scientists have discovered and described about 48,200 different kinds of mites. They think this may be only 10 percent of the total that might exist. That would be around 482,000.
Mites can be good or bad.
Many damage plants by feeding on them and by giving them diseases. But other groups are predators that gobble up other mites. One day we may be able to use these mites to control the pest mites, instead of chemicals. ARS scientist Ron Ochoa is an expert on mites. In the past, studies of many mites have been difficult because of their very small size.