Trombiculidae

A family of mites whose larvae (redbugs, rougets, harvest mites, scrub mites, or chiggers) are parasitic on vertebrates and whose nymphs and adults are bright red and free-living, living on insect eggs or minute organisms in the soil. The six-legged larvae are barely visible red or orange parasites that attach to the skin for a few days to a month, producing an exceedingly irritating reaction. In the Orient, trombiculid chiggers of the genus Leptotrombidium transmit tsutsugamushi disease, caused by Rickettsia tsutsugamushi, which is transovarially transmitted in these mites.

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Trom·bi·cu·li·dae .träm-bə-'kyü-lə-.dē n pl a large and widely distributed family of mites whose nymphs and adults feed on early stages of small arthropods but whose larvae include the chiggers and are parasites on terrestrial vertebrates including humans

trom·bic·u·lid träm-'bik-yə-ləd adj or n

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Trom·bic·u·li·dae (trom-bikґu-lĭ″de) a family of mites found in many parts of the world; their larvae are parasitic on vertebrates. Genera of medical significance include Trombicula and Neotrombicula.