Description of larva of Podothrombium filipes [C.L. Koch, 1837] [Acari: Actinotrichida: Trombidiidae] with notes on variability, anomaly and their implications for classification of Podothrombium larvae

A series of larvae of Podothrombium reared in laboratory culture was subject to morphometric analysis. Larvae were assigned to P. filipes (C. L. Koch, 1837) a species known hitherto only from postlarval instars. An array of anomalies in the chaetotaxy of various body regions was discovered. The results make it possible to re-consider the taxonomic suitability of some characters commonly used in diagnosing larvae of Podothrombium.