Which statement about mites is true?

Which statement about mites is true?

• A. They have eight legs as adults
• B. They develop by gradual metamorphosis from egg to nymph to adult
• C. They are true insects
• D. They have three body regions

Answer: (A)

Mites are arachnids, not insects, so a defining trait is that adults have eight legs. That sets them apart from insects, which always have six legs. This makes the statement about eight legs as adults true. The other ideas don’t fit as well. Mites aren’t insects, so saying they are true insects isn’t correct. Their body isn’t divided into three distinct regions like many insects (head, thorax, abdomen); mites have two main body regions (a fused front and rear part). And their development isn’t simply egg to nymph to adult—there is a larval stage with six legs before they reach the eight-legged nymph and adult stages, so describing their life cycle as egg-to-nymph-to-adult omits an important stage.

Mites are arachnids, not insects, so a defining trait is that adults have eight legs. That sets them apart from insects, which always have six legs. This makes the statement about eight legs as adults true.

The other ideas don’t fit as well. Mites aren’t insects, so saying they are true insects isn’t correct. Their body isn’t divided into three distinct regions like many insects (head, thorax, abdomen); mites have two main body regions (a fused front and rear part). And their development isn’t simply egg to nymph to adult—there is a larval stage with six legs before they reach the eight-legged nymph and adult stages, so describing their life cycle as egg-to-nymph-to-adult omits an important stage.