Lmst

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

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

Another vignette from Peak Anystid: any mite with a desirable morsel risks moochers trying to steal it for themselves. These two pictures were taken about 5 minutes apart—note how the first mite turns greenish from eating the bug. (1/2)

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Anystidae

An orange-red whirligig mite feeding on a small neon-green bug of some kind.

The mite (now tinged greenish after a few minutes of feeding) faces off against another mite (more reddish) that has seized the bug from the other side.

In other news, we have reached Peak Anystid, that short but precious time when it seems like every leaf has a plump little whirligig mite running around on it. They are avid predators and eating is practically the only time they stay still. Here are several from the garden.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Anystidae

An orange-red whirligig mite on the tip of a pointy cup plant bud thingy, feeding on some blobby grey thing about its own size.

A whirligig mite on the underside of a milkweed leaf, feeding on some kind of plant/seed bug nymph. It is turning yellowish-green from the colour of the bug.

A whirligig mite eating some kind of pale true bug whose long translucent wings have borders of attractive black stripes.

A whirligig mite on a leaf eating a yellow thrips.

Happy #ThripsThursday! To everyone except this thrips on a fallen peony petal who was promptly eaten by a whirligig mite. I 🧡 my whirligig mites.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #bugstodon #insects #thrips #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Anystidae #Thysanoptera

A thrips, a tiny thin yellow insect with a long pointy abdomen, on the delicately pink-streaked surface of a white petal.

A large squat orange-red mite has caught the thrips and is feeding on it. Blurry greenery is in the background.

Close-up of mite and thrips. Hilariously, despite the mite being many, many times larger than the thrips, their eyes are about the same size.

For #MiteMonday: mites eating things.

1. Long-legged velvet mites (family Erythraeidae, probably _Balaustium_) eating a midge
2. A whirligig mite (family Anystidae) eating a globular springtail
3. A snout mite (family Bdellidae) eating a barklouse

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Erythraeidae #Anystidae #Bdellidae

A dead midge on a rock, with several fuzzy, oblong red mites clinging to it.

An orange mite with a star- or asterisk-like arrangement of spiky legs feeding on a small round black springtail. It is on a rough black surface and there is not enough light, so the mite is rather washed out.

On a pine tree, a red-orange mite sticks its pointy, weevil-like snout into the face of a yellowish barklouse.

Belated #MiteMonday: it's the time of year I start carrying a little water dropper bottle for the whirligig mites. I've found it's a reliable way to get them to stay still for photos. 💧

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Anystidae

A tiny, squarish orange mite drinks from a drop of water that has sunk into the wooden picnic table it's on.

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

A tiny six-legged (and therefore larval) red mite with a vaguely oval body feeding on an infinitesimally small speck of yellow pollen on rock.

A tiny squarish bright red mite sinking its mouthparts into a tiny dark red ball, one of many in the crevices of tree bark.

Two large, wrinkly, velvety red mites chasing each other on a shady tree root.

A slightly flat, finely wrinkled dark blueish mite with light red legs and mouthparts, on tree bark.

Peak Anystid is over in my building's garden, but down by the lake yesterday I found plenty of them on burdock plants infested with aphids, which they prey on. Fast and nimble, they were able to steer clear of the feisty _Myrmica rubra_ farming the aphids.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Anystidae

On the upper side of a burdock leaf, a whirligig mite feeds on a black aphid. The normally red-orange mite has become the same colour as the aphid.

#MiteMonday: quartet of whirligig mites eating midges on milkweed down by the lake. Tiny midges proliferate there, and the mites take full advantage. (Yes, I'm getting the most out of Peak Anystid while it lasts!)

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Anystidae #macro

A whirligig mite (red-orange, with sparse spiky hairs) eating a tiny black midge on the underside of a milkweed leaf. One of the midge's wings almost, but not quite, covers the mite's wide-set dark red eyes.

A bright red-orange whirligig mite eating a small dark midge on the underside of a milkweed leaf. The mite is hanging off the leaf's midrib with its back legs (it was a windy day and the plants were really getting blown around).

A whirligig mite eating a small light yellow midge with large black eyes on the upper side of a milkweed leaf.

A brownish-red whirligig mite eating a black midge on the upper side of a milkweed leaf.

Going out in the middle of the day yesterday was a mistake but I did get to see three whirligig mites fighting over a midge. Real _The Good, the Bad and the Ugly_ moment.

#Mitestodon #DailyMitePic #arachnids #mites #MiteBehaviour #Acari #Anystidae

Three whirligig mites, squat mites in varying shades of red-orange with spiky hairs and a starburst of legs, face off around a dead midge.

The next moment, motion blur as they all move.

The yellow-orange mite and the light orange-red mite face off, front legs spread, while the darker red-orange mite grips a midge leg in its mouthparts.

The winner, the darker red-orange mite, feeds on the midge while dragging it around by the end of the abdomen lest anyone else try to steal it.

#MiteMonday: an oddly colourless whirligig mite (family Anystidae) feeds on a red _Uroleucon_ aphid. Hmmm… :thonking:

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Anystidae #aphids #Aphididae

In the green shade of a goldenrod stem, a squat, star-legged, pale whirligig mite feeds on a small dark red aphid. (More aphids of the same kind are in the background.) Whirligig mites are normally orange- to cherry-red, but this one is almost translucent, and its normally inconspicuous dark red eyes are quite visible.

While watching whirligig mites (family Anystidae) in the garden I actually witnessed two anystids catching prey, something I'd never seen before!

The first one has caught a little yellow globular springtail (family Bourletiellidae). It consumed it in a few seconds and then raced off again. The second one caught some kind of tiny midge, I think. It retreated with its prize to the summit of a drop of water, mindful of the several other anystids on the same leaf, and fed on it for some time.

I feel so honoured to have seen it!

#bugstodon #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Anystidae

On a shaded rock, an orange-red whirligig mite feeds on a yellow globular springtail. You can see the springtail's distinctive top-facing eyes.

Sitting atop a drop of water on a wilting Virginia bluebell leaf, a whirligig mite clutches its prey, a small black midge.

We're approaching Peak Anystid, with multiple plump, predatory little whirligig mites (family Anystidae) running frantically and erratically over every leaf. Here's just a few from one of the building's tiny little milkweed patches.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Anystidae #MiteBehaviour

A pale red-orange mite with little wide-set eyes, a squat spiky body, and a starburst of spiky legs eating a yellow bug of some kind on the underside of a milkweed leaf.

A whirligig mite feeding on a black aphid on a milkweed leaf. It is somewhat darker than the one in the previous photo, because of its food.

A whirligig mite on a small milkweed leaf near the top of the plant, feeding on a plant bug (family Miridae?) as big as itself.

#BREAKING: the first anystid larvae have been spotted swarming over the chain-link fence along Beaty Boulevard!

I have been checking the spruce tree by the Jameson bridge for what I saw before, anystid larvae raiding clover mite rookeries for eggs; no luck yet, but perhaps soon.

Erythraeid larvae have also been out for a while, and today I saw a few clumps of what are probably _Balaustium_ feeding on tree pollen.

Being arachnids, mites have eight legs as adults, but larvae have six.

#MiteMonday #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Anystidae #Erythraeidae

A tiny orange-red whirligig mite feeding on a speck of sap on the railing of a chain-link fence. It has six legs splayed out like an asterisk, a squarish body, and wide-set eyes.

In a little crevice in lichen-speckled rock, several little red mites are swarming over the yellow pollen-bearing end of a tiny anther.

#Arachtober 27: The trunk of a regal yellow tree (linden or something similar?) was busy with mites. I found a tiny cobweb spider feeding on a whirligig mite, and a red velvet mite feeding on prey in another cobweb spider's web!

#DailySpiderPic #DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #MiteBehaviour #arachnids #spiders #mites #Acari #Anystidae #Trombidiidae #Araneae #Theridiidae

A tiny cobweb spider in its 3D asymmetrical web, feeding on a plump red whirligig mite.

$A red velvet mite feeding on a wrapped-up insect in a spider's web. The spider, a fraction of the mite's size—they're a very large mite and a very small spider— is off to the side, front legs spread wide as if it's pointing accusingly at the mite: "Look what he's doing!"$

#Anystidae

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