A mite species that consists entirely of haploid females.

The dominance of the diploid state in higher organisms, with haploidy generally confined to the gametic phase, has led to the perception that diploidy is favored by selection. This view is highlighted by the fact that no known female organism within the Metazoa exists exclusively in a haploid state. Here, fluorescence microscopy and variation at nine microsatellite loci was used to show that the false spider mite, Brevipalpus phoenicis, consists of haploid female parthenogens. This reproductive anomaly is caused by infection by an undescribed endosymbiotic bacterium which results in feminization of haploid genetic males.