#mites — Public Fediverse posts

#MiteMonday: an oribatid mite, a slow-moving detritivore with hard, shell-like armour. This one was manoeuvring around some spider silk. I have the feeling it's one of those ones whose name ends in -zetes? @frankashwood would have a better idea.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Oribatida

#MiteMonday: an oribatid mite, a slow-moving detritivore with hard, shell-like armour. This one was manoeuvring around some spider silk. I have the feeling it's one of those ones whose name ends in -zetes? @frankashwood would have a better idea.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Oribatida

#MiteMonday: an oribatid mite, a slow-moving detritivore with hard, shell-like armour. This one was manoeuvring around some spider silk. I have the feeling it's one of those ones whose name ends in -zetes? @frankashwood would have a better idea.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Oribatida

#MiteMonday: an oribatid mite, a slow-moving detritivore with hard, shell-like armour. This one was manoeuvring around some spider silk. I have the feeling it's one of those ones whose name ends in -zetes? @frankashwood would have a better idea.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Oribatida

Some arachnids from today:

- young _Mangora_ orbweaver
- _Naphrys pulex_ (I think?), considering some kind of hymenopteran
- and most excitingly, Trombidiidae that aren't _Allothrombium_! I'm not quite sure whether they're both _Trombidium_, the first one is oddly not velvety at all but more rough-textured, and more flat than plump, like Smarididae if it were trombidiid-shaped. I am going to upload the pics to BugGuide to see what the experts say.

#DailySpiderPic #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #spiders #mites #Araneae #Araneidae #Salticidae #Acari #Acariformes #Parasitengona #Trombidiidae

Some arachnids from today:

- young _Mangora_ orbweaver
- _Naphrys pulex_ (I think?), considering some kind of hymenopteran
- and most excitingly, Trombidiidae that aren't _Allothrombium_! I'm not quite sure whether they're both _Trombidium_, the first one is oddly not velvety at all but more rough-textured, and more flat than plump, like Smarididae if it were trombidiid-shaped. I am going to upload the pics to BugGuide to see what the experts say.

#DailySpiderPic #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #spiders #mites #Araneae #Araneidae #Salticidae #Acari #Acariformes #Parasitengona #Trombidiidae

Some arachnids from today:

- young _Mangora_ orbweaver
- _Naphrys pulex_ (I think?), considering some kind of hymenopteran
- and most excitingly, Trombidiidae that aren't _Allothrombium_! I'm not quite sure whether they're both _Trombidium_, the first one is oddly not velvety at all but more rough-textured, and more flat than plump, like Smarididae if it were trombidiid-shaped. I am going to upload the pics to BugGuide to see what the experts say.

#DailySpiderPic #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #spiders #mites #Araneae #Araneidae #Salticidae #Acari #Acariformes #Parasitengona #Trombidiidae

Some arachnids from today:

- young _Mangora_ orbweaver
- _Naphrys pulex_ (I think?), considering some kind of hymenopteran
- and most excitingly, Trombidiidae that aren't _Allothrombium_! I'm not quite sure whether they're both _Trombidium_, the first one is oddly not velvety at all but more rough-textured, and more flat than plump, like Smarididae if it were trombidiid-shaped. I am going to upload the pics to BugGuide to see what the experts say.

#DailySpiderPic #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #spiders #mites #Araneae #Araneidae #Salticidae #Acari #Acariformes #Parasitengona #Trombidiidae

Nature fans: the spring Gall Week starts May 2nd! URL has details on how to participate on iNaturalist, plus links to an excellent podcast featuring Adam Kranz. #nature #biology #inaturalist #cynipidae #galls #insects #mites #wasps https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/257180/journal/129848

Nature fans: the spring Gall Week starts May 2nd! URL has details on how to participate on iNaturalist, plus links to an excellent podcast featuring Adam Kranz. #nature #biology #inaturalist #cynipidae #galls #insects #mites #wasps https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/257180/journal/129848

Nature fans: the spring Gall Week starts May 2nd! URL has details on how to participate on iNaturalist, plus links to an excellent podcast featuring Adam Kranz. #nature #biology #inaturalist #cynipidae #galls #insects #mites #wasps https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/257180/journal/129848

Nature fans: the spring Gall Week starts May 2nd! URL has details on how to participate on iNaturalist, plus links to an excellent podcast featuring Adam Kranz. #nature #biology #inaturalist #cynipidae #galls #insects #mites #wasps https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/257180/journal/129848

https://www.europesays.com/fr/862071/ Faites ceci avant le 15 avril pour éviter que les mites ne dévorent vos pulls d’hiver fraîchement rangés #«Le #15 #avant #avril #Business #ceci #d'hiver #devorent #Économie #Economy #éviter #faites #FR #fraichement #France #les #mites #ne #pour #pulls #que #ranges #vos

RE: https://scicomm.xyz/@dantheclamman/116196703399022292

How do #animals #aggregate?#Mites can find each other based on #pheromones, while #sight is important for herd-forming #mammals. In #marine #habitats, #hearing plays a major role. D.McAfee et al.(2022) showed that #oyster #larvae react to the #soundscape of a healthy #reef via #statocysts in front of their bodies, thus finding their adult conspecifics for #reefformation. Reef formation can be artificially #stimulated via artificial #soundwaves.
©#StefanFWirth 2026
Ref
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14307

The triumphant return of #MiteMonday!

Spotted this unusually reddish penthaleid mite on a decaying tree stump. Note the small pale #DorsalAnus on its back towards the rear of the abdomen.

#bugstodon #Mitestodon #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Penthaleidae

went to the park and flipped a log which was in icy ankle-deep slush but still yielded the usuals.

#bugstodon #insects #springtails #beetles #mites #Mitestodon #Acari #Parasitiformes #Mesostigmata #Coleoptera #Staphylinidae #Collembola #Entomobryomorpha #Hymenoptera

Very small #mites are subject of my research as they are associated with other arthropods (#phoretic#dispersal), and even #influence the #microclimate in their #habitats in complex ways, by fungal #spore transport+chemical fungal growth regulation via own #fungicides. #Histiostoma #sapromyzarum is subject of my current#Behance project exploring it also #aestheticslly.

©#StefanFWirth

I depend on support, please buy me a coffee
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Behance S F.Wirth
https://www.behance.net/gallery/244398767/Fragile-Transparency

Still the depths of winter here. I have been having dreams about bugs. I recently had a dream about finding plump whirligig mites everywhere: some their usual orange-red, others greenish because they had just eaten something green…I miss the mites.

Here are some whirligig mites I found a couple of years ago on a rock down by the lake, fighting over a dead midge. #iNaturalist observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/225382565 :inaturalist:

#MiteMonday #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acariformes #Anystidae

A striking #character of adult #mites in #Histiostomatidae (#Astigmata) is a highly #sclerotized area on the upper surface of #proterosoma. Its #latticelike #structure forms a #taxonomically relevant #symmetrical #pattern of windows, for which I introduced a #nomenclature in my PhD thesis. This area is a site of #muscleorigins (see #SEM section through a bigger specimen of #Acaridae).
©#StefanFWirth 2026

Please support my work with a coffee
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#pics
©S.F. Wirth edit 2026

A striking #character of adult #mites in #Histiostomatidae (#Astigmata) is a highly #sclerotized area on the upper surface of #proterosoma. Its #latticelike #structure forms a #taxonomically relevant #symmetrical #pattern of windows, for which I introduced a #nomenclature in my PhD thesis. This area is a site of #muscleorigins (see #SEM section through a bigger specimen of #Acaridae).
©#StefanFWirth 2026

Please support my work with a coffee
https://ko-fi.com/sfwirth

#pics
©S.F. Wirth edit 2026

A striking #character of adult #mites in #Histiostomatidae (#Astigmata) is a highly #sclerotized area on the upper surface of #proterosoma. Its #latticelike #structure forms a #taxonomically relevant #symmetrical #pattern of windows, for which I introduced a #nomenclature in my PhD thesis. This area is a site of #muscleorigins (see #SEM section through a bigger specimen of #Acaridae).
©#StefanFWirth 2026

Please support my work with a coffee
https://ko-fi.com/sfwirth

#pics
©S.F. Wirth edit 2026

A striking #character of adult #mites in #Histiostomatidae (#Astigmata) is a highly #sclerotized area on the upper surface of #proterosoma. Its #latticelike #structure forms a #taxonomically relevant #symmetrical #pattern of windows, for which I introduced a #nomenclature in my PhD thesis. This area is a site of #muscleorigins (see #SEM section through a bigger specimen of #Acaridae).
©#StefanFWirth 2026

Please support my work with a coffee
https://ko-fi.com/sfwirth

#pics
©S.F. Wirth edit 2026

A striking #character of adult #mites in #Histiostomatidae (#Astigmata) is a highly #sclerotized area on the upper surface of #proterosoma. Its #latticelike #structure forms a #taxonomically relevant #symmetrical #pattern of windows, for which I introduced a #nomenclature in my PhD thesis. This area is a site of #muscleorigins (see #SEM section through a bigger specimen of #Acaridae).
©#StefanFWirth 2026

Please support my work with a coffee
https://ko-fi.com/sfwirth

#pics
©S.F. Wirth edit 2026

#Freelancers like me depend on support to survive and be productive, I much appreciate support for a coffee: ko-fi.com/sfwirth
I am performing #science, #sciencecommunication and #arts, often combining arts/science. My #topicrange is wide, it reaches from titan #isopods over the behaviors of the Mediterranean #Junebeetle and even over an #animated #video about the #Cambrianexplosion towards #phoretic #mites of the #Histiostomatidae. Here H. sp. from rotting #lemonfruits. Please support my work.

#Mouthparts in #mites of the #Acariformes are usually normal shaped as typical for #arachnids. The #chelicerae are the feeding organs consisting of digitus fixus and d. mobilis. #Pedipalps have sensing functions with different kinds of #sensoryorgans. In #Histiostomatidae (#Astigmata) the whole #gnathosoma is modified into a complex #filterfeeding organ that creates an #underpressure on #food surfaces.
© #StefanFWirth Berlin 2026

Reference
S. F. Wirth (2023)
https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/GSP/GSOIL4N/GSOIL4N-Posters/ID_167.pdf

#Mites of the #Histiostomatidae live in #darkness in their #ephemeral #microhabitats. The distinctive deutonymphs are the #dispersal stage, being transported by insects. #Adults, however, live freely and #communicate via complex #olfactorysignals. An important #glandularcomplex is located on the dorsal body side. I participated in a study about the #geranial-rich glandular #secretions (2012).

© #StefanFWirth 24 Dec. 2025

Ref

https://doi.org/10.1080/01647954.2012.662247

#SEM #pics

©S.F. Wirth, Histiostoma sp.

Been a long time since I posted anything for #MiteMonday, but I was going through my camera and found this one I don't think I've shared before! Just a good old _Allothrombium_ red velvet mite.

#Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Trombidiidae

#MiteMonday: a tiny _Podocinum_ mite found under a rock. Its extremely thin elongated front legs have forked hairs at the end, and it seems to use these legs like antennae to navigate.

Much better pictures here: https://bugguide.net/node/view/514391

#Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Parasitiformes #Mesostigmata #Podocinidae

#Ascospores are the result of the sexual reproduction of #Ascomycota #fungi, being single celled or #septate. There are different ways of #dispersal. One option is obligatory or accidental transport via animals, such as #mites. The photos show mating mites of #Histiostoma sp. seemingly covered with 4 chambered ascospores. J. Karakehian et al. (2021) studied "Methods for observing, culturing, and studying living ascospores".

© #StefanFWirth 2025

Ref
https://doi.org/10.5943/ajom/4/2/1

#SEM
©S.F.Wirth

#safely eradicate #parasites via #gene-drive
#medical : lice, scabies : #gene_drive
#lice (body, pubic, head) & #mites (' #scabies ') and #bedbugs have no #natural_predators , it would be fantastically amazing to have a #genedrive to #eradicate the sometimes-lethal insects. Last year, it was widely reported, one on the east coast had died -- was literally eaten alive by a parasite colony in jail. No treatment had been granted, despite repeat complaints. More recently, prisoners in #ice jails, families & children in #Gaza , and held in #Israeli #prisons have reported being deliberately #infected with scabies and lice, suffering horribly. Also #RX #treatment_resistance - much like #antibiotic_resistance w #superbugs - to conventional RX (#antiparasitics ) has skyrocketed: in late 1990s, efficacy was ~97% in USA. But a decade ago by 2016, dropped to ~35%. Today, the identical treatment is prescribed as 30 years ago. Finally, said #drugs = #neurotoxin #nerve_damage . A #genedrive could fix all of that. What is it? A gene edit which makes 100% of all offspring male: no females = inability to #reproduce and it perpetuates every generation so an edited male reproduces w nonedited female and all eggs become male, also carrying the gene-edit.... And eventually the colony depopulates entirely. A very fast & effective cure ..... versus.... a months-long hopeless battle dousing one's body in vinegar, daily, plus numerous other toxins & nerve damage.

#safely eradicate #parasites via #gene-drive
#medical : lice, scabies : #gene_drive
#lice (body, pubic, head) & #mites (' #scabies ') and #bedbugs have no #natural_predators , it would be fantastically amazing to have a #genedrive to #eradicate the sometimes-lethal insects. Last year, it was widely reported, one on the east coast had died -- was literally eaten alive by a parasite colony in jail. No treatment had been granted, despite repeat complaints. More recently, prisoners in #ice jails, families & children in #Gaza , and held in #Israeli #prisons have reported being deliberately #infected with scabies and lice, suffering horribly. Also #RX #treatment_resistance - much like #antibiotic_resistance w #superbugs - to conventional RX (#antiparasitics ) has skyrocketed: in late 1990s, efficacy was ~97% in USA. But a decade ago by 2016, dropped to ~35%. Today, the identical treatment is prescribed as 30 years ago. Finally, said #drugs = #neurotoxin #nerve_damage . A #genedrive could fix all of that. What is it? A gene edit which makes 100% of all offspring male: no females = inability to #reproduce and it perpetuates every generation so an edited male reproduces w nonedited female and all eggs become male, also carrying the gene-edit.... And eventually the colony depopulates entirely. A very fast & effective cure ..... versus.... a months-long hopeless battle dousing one's body in vinegar, daily, plus numerous other toxins & nerve damage.

#safely eradicate #parasites via #gene-drive
#medical : lice, scabies : #gene_drive
#lice (body, pubic, head) & #mites (' #scabies ') and #bedbugs have no #natural_predators , it would be fantastically amazing to have a #genedrive to #eradicate the sometimes-lethal insects. Last year, it was widely reported, one on the east coast had died -- was literally eaten alive by a parasite colony in jail. No treatment had been granted, despite repeat complaints. More recently, prisoners in #ice jails, families & children in #Gaza , and held in #Israeli #prisons have reported being deliberately #infected with scabies and lice, suffering horribly. Also #RX #treatment_resistance - much like #antibiotic_resistance w #superbugs - to conventional RX (#antiparasitics ) has skyrocketed: in late 1990s, efficacy was ~97% in USA. But a decade ago by 2016, dropped to ~35%. Today, the identical treatment is prescribed as 30 years ago. Finally, said #drugs = #neurotoxin #nerve_damage . A #genedrive could fix all of that. What is it? A gene edit which makes 100% of all offspring male: no females = inability to #reproduce and it perpetuates every generation so an edited male reproduces w nonedited female and all eggs become male, also carrying the gene-edit.... And eventually the colony depopulates entirely. A very fast & effective cure ..... versus.... a months-long hopeless battle dousing one's body in vinegar, daily, plus numerous other toxins & nerve damage.

#safely eradicate #parasites via #gene-drive
#medical : lice, scabies : #gene_drive
#lice (body, pubic, head) & #mites (' #scabies ') and #bedbugs have no #natural_predators , it would be fantastically amazing to have a #genedrive to #eradicate the sometimes-lethal insects. Last year, it was widely reported, one on the east coast had died -- was literally eaten alive by a parasite colony in jail. No treatment had been granted, despite repeat complaints. More recently, prisoners in #ice jails, families & children in #Gaza , and held in #Israeli #prisons have reported being deliberately #infected with scabies and lice, suffering horribly. Also #RX #treatment_resistance - much like #antibiotic_resistance w #superbugs - to conventional RX (#antiparasitics ) has skyrocketed: in late 1990s, efficacy was ~97% in USA. But a decade ago by 2016, dropped to ~35%. Today, the identical treatment is prescribed as 30 years ago. Finally, said #drugs = #neurotoxin #nerve_damage . A #genedrive could fix all of that. What is it? A gene edit which makes 100% of all offspring male: no females = inability to #reproduce and it perpetuates every generation so an edited male reproduces w nonedited female and all eggs become male, also carrying the gene-edit.... And eventually the colony depopulates entirely. A very fast & effective cure ..... versus.... a months-long hopeless battle dousing one's body in vinegar, daily, plus numerous other toxins & nerve damage.

#safely eradicate #parasites via #gene-drive
#medical : lice, scabies : #gene_drive
#lice (body, pubic, head) & #mites (' #scabies ') and #bedbugs have no #natural_predators , it would be fantastically amazing to have a #genedrive to #eradicate the sometimes-lethal insects. Last year, it was widely reported, one on the east coast had died -- was literally eaten alive by a parasite colony in jail. No treatment had been granted, despite repeat complaints. More recently, prisoners in #ice jails, families & children in #Gaza , and held in #Israeli #prisons have reported being deliberately #infected with scabies and lice, suffering horribly. Also #RX #treatment_resistance - much like #antibiotic_resistance w #superbugs - to conventional RX (#antiparasitics ) has skyrocketed: in late 1990s, efficacy was ~97% in USA. But a decade ago by 2016, dropped to ~35%. Today, the identical treatment is prescribed as 30 years ago. Finally, said #drugs = #neurotoxin #nerve_damage . A #genedrive could fix all of that. What is it? A gene edit which makes 100% of all offspring male: no females = inability to #reproduce and it perpetuates every generation so an edited male reproduces w nonedited female and all eggs become male, also carrying the gene-edit.... And eventually the colony depopulates entirely. A very fast & effective cure ..... versus.... a months-long hopeless battle dousing one's body in vinegar, daily, plus numerous other toxins & nerve damage.

#Mites of the #Histiostomatidae (#Astigmata) not only have highly #modified #mouthparts (see photo) that form a #filterfeeding organ, but their #copulatoryposition is also an #evolutionary #modification. Other Astigmata mate back-to-back, while Histiostomatidae have the male riding on top of the female, head over head. See here the dorsal #copulationopening of a #female of #Histiostoma sp..

©#StefanFWirth 2025

Further reading S.F. Wirth ( 2024)
https://www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/gsid24/posters/en/

SEMphotos ©S.F. Wirth

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

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

#Arachtober 25: now for something entirely different, a penthaleid mite (https://bugguide.net/node/view/263374) feeding on a dandelion leaf. Species like the common _P. major_ (which this probably is) have a #DorsalAnus and excrete these globules as they feed, often hanging upside down on the undersides of leaves or vertically on blades of grass.

(If you think a dorsal anus is wild, certain astig females have secondary dorsal genital openings for copulation.)

#ArthroBeauty #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Penthaleidae

#Arachtober 23: witnessed some interesting behaviour between two long-legged velvet mites (family Erythraeidae, likely genus _Balaustium_) on a tree trunk. They were circling each other and drumming their legs, similar to what I've seen courting _Allothrombium_ red velvet mites doing. I am going to email a mite expert and see what they think!

Unfortunately somewhat shaky video here: https://youtu.be/eGYU6fMfm_Q

#ArthroBeauty #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Parasitengona #Erythraeidae

#Arachtober 21: dreams can come true (if your dream is finding a snout mite https://flipping.rocks/@nev/115403746846167689)

#ArthroBeauty #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Bdellidae #LichenSubscribe

#Arachtober 20: a tiny oribatid or beetle mite, likely suborder Mixonomata (https://bugguide.net/node/view/238862), ubiquitous dwellers of soil and leaf litter, armoured decomposers.

#ArthroBeauty #MiteMonday #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #mites #Acari #Oribatida #Mixonomata

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

#Arachtober #MiteMonday: just a good old red velvet mite (_Allothrombium_).

Just imagine having a guinea pig-sized one, as a pet. It would be soft and squishy. It would enjoy squeezing into little crevices to nap. You could brush it, very gently. It wouldn't see very well. It could climb up things with little retractable claws. You could probably feed it mealworms.

#ArthroBeauty #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Parasitengona #Trombidiidae

#Mites of the #Histiostomatidae (#Astigmata, #Acariformes) are adapted due to #evolution to form #species with #small sizes of about 200-400 micrometers in adults. Their thin #cuticles and modified #filterfeeding #mouthparts for #fungus-bacterial #food intake allowed their #radiation within shortliving moist and bacteria/fungus rich habitats.

©#StefanFWirth October 2025,

Photos
Females of #Histiostoma sp., from #sapropel #mud around gravel pit ponds, #Berlin #Grunewald, 2019, New edit 2025

#Arachtober 4: March mating mesostig madness!

These are an ubiquitous sort of soil-dwelling predatory mites, likely in the family Parasitidae (ironically, primarily predators) in the order Mesostigmata in the superorder Parasitiformes. They are only very distantly related to the whirligig mite I posted the other day, which is in superorder Acariformes. While the two superorders are traditionally grouped together under Acari, it is likely they don't share a common ancestor and should be treated separately. So I'm counting them as a different group!

#iNaturalist observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/275521159 :inaturalist:

Some pro-level photos and info about mesostigs: https://www.chaosofdelight.org/all-about-mites-mesostigmata

#ArthroBeauty #arachnids #mites #MiteSex #taxonomy #Acari #Parasitiformes #Mesostigmata #Parasitidae

#Arachtober 2: anystid renaissance! Commonly called whirligig mites for their constant frantic and erratic running, these large (~1 mm*) predatory mites in the family Anystidae have a population boom in early to mid-June and seem to increase in numbers again in autumn, at least around here. They eat aphids, small midges, each other, etc. This one seems to be eating some kind of barklouse (Psocodea)?

* Given that many mites are microscopic, any mite one can clearly see with the naked eye counts as "large".

#ArthroBeauty #LichenSubscribe #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Anystidae