#dailymitevid — Public Fediverse posts

It's another #Arachtober #MiteMonday! Here's a whirligig mite (family Anystidae) cleaning its feet. Warning: handheld video! I was able to stabilize it a bit but the camera still moves around.

#ArthroBeauty #DailyMiteVid #Mitestodon #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Anystidae

Whirligig mite tug-of-war commenced. (2/2)

#DailyMiteVid #Mitestodon #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Anystidae

#DailyMiteVid: whirligig mites (family Anystidae) are happy to eat each other, as you can see from this clip filmed today. I noticed that the mite being eaten seemed to still be alive and moving its limbs; it was only on re-watching the video that I realized it seemed to be cleaning one of its legs!

CW: slightly shaky video moving in & out of focus; mite being altogether too chill about being devoured alive by its fellow

#Mitestodon #MiteBehaviour #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Anystidae

The sidewalk mites (_Balaustium_) that swarm over the ground this time of year primarily eat pollen, but they will also scavenge dead bugs (I do not think they are actually predatory). This horde has found an ant pupa, I think?

I am fascinated by this behaviour and try to catch it at least once every summer.

#DailyMiteVid #Mitestodon #MiteBehaviour #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Parasitengona #Erythraeidae

#MiteMonday: ever look down and see a bunch of little red guys on the pavement or whatever? Chances are they're long-legged velvet mites (family Erythraeidae) in the genus _Balaustium_. Practically all of their relatives are parasitic on other arthropods as larvae and predatory as adults, but some common _Balaustium_ species are lifelong pollen-eaters. Here's one eating peony pollen I put down.

#DailyMiteVid #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Parasitengona #Erythraeidae

It's still #MiteMonday somewhere…

Vignette from under a log. A snout mite (family Bdellidae) feeds on the remains of a springtail, with a guest appearance from a beetle mite (order? suborder? Oribatida)*.

* Above superfamily or so, mite taxonomic ranks start getting contentious.

#DailyMiteVid #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acariformes #Bdellidae #Oribatida