The relative abundance of gamasid and oribatid mites inhabiting soil and litter in mango orchards was investigated in
Ismailia region, Egypt. Soil and litter samples were collected from August 2008 to July 2009. Totally, 6057 individuals
of gamasid and oribatid mites were found in the collected soil and litter samples. The collected mites belong to 34 mite
species and I 8 families. Gamasida was represented by 20 species of 2212 individuals, while Oribatida was represented
by 14 species of 3845 individuals. Gamasid mites were generally dominated by Parasitus zaheri Hafez and Nasr in the
soil samples, while in the litter, seven species were influent and the others were recedent. Oribatida comprised 63.48%
of total mites collected and dominated by six species in both soil and litter. The highest population density of soil mites
was recorded in winter months compared with summer months. Biotic and abiotic factors affecting abundance of soil
mites were discussed.