#deutonymph — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #deutonymph, aggregated by home.social.
-
#mites of the #Astigmata (#Acariformes) are soft-skinned. Their thin #cuticle is sensitive to #drought, which is why they avoid leaving their mostly #moist #fungus- and bacteria-rich #habitats. For the purpose of #dispersal, a modified instar, the #deutonymph, with stronger cuticle and other specific #adaptations #evolved, performing #phoresy, the transport most often via larger arthropods.
© #StefanFWirth, July 2026, Berlin#Photo:
#Adult female of #Histiostoma sp. © Stefan F. Wirth -
Under adverse conditions, #astigmatid #mites develop a special nymphal stage: the #deutonymph (shown here: #Histiostoma #sapromyzarum, living specimen). It's a #heteromorphic stage that serves the purpose of #phoretictransport and a result of a #metamorphosis into a juvenile stage lacking a mouth but possessing gonadal primordia and a rudimentary midgut.
©#StefanFWirthSupport me: https://ko-fi.com/sfwirth
Further reading
P.B. Klimov et al. (2021)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94367-2#Photos
©S.F.Wirth,2026 -
The #phoretic #mite #Forcellinia #wasmanni (#Astigmata, #Acaridae), which occurs among other ant species on the ant #Myrmica #rudinodis, develops in the ant #nest. The phoretic #dispersal stage (#deutonymph) is spread by ant workers.
To do this, I discovered a behavior I call "#pupa #guarding": it attaches to ant pupae and waits in this position until the adult ant hatches.. My video 2015-2023 in reduced quality (size limitations)
© #StefanFWirth Berlin/Usedom