Oviposition behaviour of the soil mite Veigaia cerva (Acari: Veigaiidae).

We observed the oviposition behaviour of the soil mite Veigaia cerva (Kramer) (Acari: Veigaiidae) using continuous video-monitoring. Five phases could be recognized. Phase I involved inspection of the substrate. In phase II the female rhythmically moved her gnathosoma and first pair of legs. After an inactive phase III, the soma was raised (IV), and the egg was laid (V). In the actual egg laying three sub-phases could be distinguished: internal egg movement, placing the egg in front of the gnathosoma, and depositing the egg using the chelicerae. The palps and first pair of legs were used to position the egg between the chelicerae. The whole process took on average 333 ± 22 s.