#dailymitepic — Public Fediverse posts

#Arachtober 28: clover mite (_Bryobia_) in a bright patch of lichen.

#ArthroBeauty #LichenSubscribe #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #CloverMites #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Tetranychidae #Bryobiinae

Anyway, #InternationalRockFlippingDay finds: a vine weevil (*Otiorhynchus* of some kind), and a bryobiine spider mite, see e.g. *Petrobia*.

#bugstodon #DailyMitePic #arachnids #mites #SpiderMites #insects #beetles #weevils #Coleoptera #Curculionidae #Entiminae #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Tetranychidae #Bryobiinae

Little red mites of spring!

- A larval sidewalk mite (_Balaustium_) eating pollen
- A young whirligig mite (family Anystidae) eating clover mite eggs (the little reddish balls)
- Sumo mites (_Allothrombium_) wrestling
- and lastly, a clover mite (_Bryobia_), which isn't really that red when full grown but which all of the other mites are frequently misidentified as. They won't be out much longer, they go dormant in the hot months.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Erythraeidae #Anystidae #Trombidiidae #Tetranychidae #Bryobiinae

#MiteMonday: it's that time of year again! A sheet-web weaver's web in a willow tree crevice is carpeted with tiny _Bryobia_ clover mites.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Tetranychidae #Bryobiinae

I almost forgot it was #MiteMonday! Inspired by @zorbama's shot of a running crab spider, clover mite, and midge all together (https://veganism.social/@zorbama/114373000260983349), here's a running crab spider (_Philodromus_) I found feeding on a clover mite (_Bryobia_). I don't actually often find many arthropods feeding on the adults, though I've seen predatory _Anystis_ mites eating the eggs.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #mites #DailySpiderPic #SpidersOfMastodon #spiders #Acari #Acariformes #Tetranychidae #Bryobiinae #Araneae #Philodromidae

#MiteMonday × #LichenSubscribe: we got some flurries today, but at a few degrees above zero the clover mites (_Bryobia_) are still out and about. Here's one climbing over a tiny crumb of lichen.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #CloverMites • #Acari #Acariformes #Tetranychidae #Bryobiinae

#MiteMonday: Astig explosion!!!

I had been putting off making a new tub of fruit fly medium and excelsior for the flightless fruit flies, and discovered the other day that the current tub had quite the population of astigmatid mites, feeding off the same stuff and emerging in great numbers to swarm the outside of the tub during the warmest part of the day. I was actually pretty excited about this, as I hadn't personally seen an infestation of these since childhood, long before I started doing smartphone macrophotography (as a matter of fact, long before smartphones existed, but anyway…), and posts about them on bug ID forums are, for some reason, virtually always low-res shaky videos. So I actually had a chance to get up-close photos!

Astigs, which branched off from oribatids, are a large and diverse group. Some common species, largely in the family Acaridae (like _Acarus siro_ and _Tyrophagus putrescentiae_), are found around the world as pests of stored products. They may be called "grain mites", "mold mites", "flour mites", "cheese mites", etc. They are harmless, though in huge numbers (e.g. in a bakery, barn, or grain silo) they can spoil food.

I had just been using a pantyhose sock thing to cover the fruit fly tub, but I went out and got surgical masks so I can make something less porous. I'll also make a fresh batch of fruit fly medium and toss the old tub. That should help keep the mites at a more manageable level.

I can't ID these precisely—you really need an expert with a key and a microscope—but they're likely Acaridae of some kind.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites • #Acari #Acariformes #Acaridae

#Arachtober 26: the cool weather is back and so the clover mites (_Bryobia_) are out! The tiny juvenile spiders plentiful now seemed unbothered by the crowds of mites scrambling around them.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #CloverMites #DailySpiderPic #SpidersOfMastodon #spiders • #Acari #Tetranychidae #Bryobiinae #Araneae #Tetragnathidae

#DailyMitePic × #LichenSubscribe: went out for a walk today but it was colder and rainier than I expected and I had to go home. But I did get this shot of clover mites and their eggs nestled into the folds of lichen on a spruce tree.

#Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #CloverMites #Acari #Tetranychidae #Bryobiinae

#MiteMonday: stretching its skinny legs, a tiny clover mite (_Bryobia_) barely manages to cross a crevasse (to us, a hairline crack) on a tree trunk.

#Mitestodon #DailyMitePic #mites #Acari #Tetranychidae #Bryobiinae

WE GOT YOBES

(_Bryobia_ clover mites, that is. They like it cold and disappear entirely during the hot months. I've seen them in early spring, but this is the first time I've noticed them in the fall! They were crawling all over the weeping willow trees down by the lake.)

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #mites #CloverMites #Acari #Tetranychidae #Bryobiinae

#Arachtober 13 (it's still the 13th somewhere!): a fast-moving, red running crab spider (family Philodromidae) eating an equally fast-moving, red whirligig mite (family Anystidae)! From back in July, seen on the Park Dr Reservation Trail, southwest of the Evergreen Brick Works.

Possibly _Philodromus rufus_? I've only identified a _Philodromus_ to species like, once.

#DailySpiderPic #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #spiders #mites #Araneae #Philodromidae #Acari #Anystidae

#MiteMonday: clearing out old photos from my phone—this is from April, can't remember if I've posted it here. Behind a spiderweb covered with young clover mites (_Bryobia_), a red velvet mite (_Allothrombium_) ponderously makes its way up a tree.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Tetranychidae #Bryobiinae #Trombidiidae

On the Beltline Trail the other day, my sister and I spotted this delightfully and unusually pink running crab spider (family Philodromidae). A closer look showed it was feeding on a bright red whirligig mite (family Anystidae)—perhaps how it got that colour??

#ArthroBeauty #DailySpiderPic #SpiderSunday #spiders #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #mites #Araneae #Philodromidae #Acari #Anystidae

went out for a walk even though it was cold and at the last tree just before i was about to go home i think i sAW ANYSTIDS EATING CLOVER MITE EGGS??!? will upload video but in meanwhile here's a picture

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Anystidae #Tetranychidae #Bryobiinae