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Sexual Reproduction
Sexual reproduction among mites is when a male and female copulate. The female will then lay anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred eggs, depending on the species. Most mites rely on humid environments for egg laying. There is little to no parental care once the eggs are laid and the babies, which may hatch several days later, will be on their own. Common dust mites and spider mites both reproduce via sexual means.
Asexual Reproduction
Asexual reproduction does not require mating. Nearly every member of the species is a female that is born pregnant. Her offspring will be clones of herself, and each one of them will be born pregnant, as well, leading to little genetic variation. There will be an occasional male that pops up in asexual populations, but they are considered nonfunctional to the colony. An example of an asexual species of mite is the balaustium mite from Southern Australia.
Variation
It has been shown that some species of mite will jump back and forth between sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction. Oribatid mites, which are also known as beetle mites, had long been believed to have exclusively reproduced asexually. However, more recently it has been reported that the group is beginning to reproduce sexually once more.
Advantages
Sexual reproduction has many distinct advantages over asexual reproduction. The mixing of genetic material allows more dominant genes to emerge, which means offspring should theoretically be stronger than their parents from a genetic standpoint. This means sexual beings can become resistant to various diseases and pathogens over time. However, asexual reproduction has the advantage of allowing populations to thrive without the pressure of finding a mate for copulation.