Among the Uropodidae, the most common species in livestock and poultry manure is Fuscuropoda vegetans (DeGeer). It is slightly oval, reddish-brown and heavily sclerotized giving a beetle-like appearance. The legs can be pulled back into depressions on the ventral surface.
Fuscuropoda vegetans is predacious on first-instar house fly larvae but is unable to subdue larger larvae. It is usually unable to pierce the chorion and feed on fly eggs.
In addition to fly larvae, Fuscuropoda vegetans feeds on nematodes and organic matter in the manure.
This mite is slow moving and often found in aggregations. It has a 30–40-day life cycle, so populations build up slowly, but it often becomes the most abundant mite after 8–12 weeks of manure accumulation.
A specialized deutonymph stage attaches to beetles or flies which transport it to new areas.
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