The juvenile development consists of a larval stage (three pairs of legs), protonymph, and deuteronymph, but no tritonymph.

[4][9] Similarly, two genetic lines of Poecilochirus carabi mites have been reported from North America, which specialize on different sets of Nicrophorus hosts in some populations.

Identification keys mostly rely on the extent of a dark band across the sternal shield, the size of the dorsal shields, the doral chaetotaxy (mainly the length of the setae), and appendices of the fixed digit of the chelicerae.

The mites from Asia and America that would previously have been identified as P. carabi based on their morphology are from distinct genetic lineages.

In addition, the mites that have been identified as P. subterraneus based on their morphology also likely belong to more than one species.