Itchy? This may be the cause

Sarcoptes scabiei or the itch mite is a parasitic arthropod which DIGS(ouch) into skin and causes scabies. Animals affected includes humans. The larvae, which hatch in 3–10 days, move about on the skin, moult into a nymphal stage, and then mature into adult mites. The adult mites live 3–4 weeks in the host's skin



Adult scabies mites are spherical, eyeless mites with four pairs of legs. They are recognizable by their oval, ventrally flattened and dorsally convex tortoise-like body and multiple cuticular spines. Females are 0.3–0.45 millimetre (0.012–0.018 in) long and 0.25–0.35 millimetre (0.0098–0.014 in) wide, and males are just over half that size.

The scabies mite Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis goes through four stages in its lifecycle: egg, larva, nymph and adult.