Lmst

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.

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.

The cherry trees are blooming in Trinity-Bellwoods! 🌸

…But I didn't dress up or bring a selfie stick or anything so instead I just rolled over some logs and took pictures of mites. I saw mesostigs trying to carry off springtails, plus one with some small prey (quite possibly another mite) in its mouthparts.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #bugstodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Mesostigmata #MiteBehaviour

A small golden-brown mite clutching a much larger green elongate springtail.

A reddish-brown, teardrop-shaped mesostig with a tiny white thing in its mouthparts.

A small light brown mesostig trying to carry off a light green springtail several times its body length.

it's over anakin, i have the high ground

#DailyMiteVid #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Trombidiidae #Allothrombium #MiteBehaviour

Saturday night's all right for (sumo mite) fighting

edit: you can also see much smaller clover mites (_Bryobia_) moving around in the periphery. They are the bluish ones with threadlike pink-orange legs. That is their full size. For comparison, the sumo mites are like 4mm tops?

#DailyMiteVid #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Trombidiidae #Allothrombium #MiteBehaviour

That Lady and the Tramp scene with the spaghetti, but it's these sumo mites (_Allothrombium_) feeding on a dead midge (family Chironomidae).

Also later they started fighting, but I'm not sure if they were fighting over the midge or just regular sumo mite fighting.

#DailyMiteVid #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Trombidiidae #Allothrombium #MiteBehaviour

#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.

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

#MiteMonday: It's crowded in the garden during Peak Anystid! Yesterday I saw a whirligig mite (family Anystidae) eating a small plant bug (family Miridae) when a second mite came along and had a bite. The first mite stopped feeding, but did keep one foot on the bug, as if to call dibs. It wasn't long before a third mite happened upon the kill and also helped itself to the bug.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #MiteBehaviour #arachnids #mites #Acari #Anystidae #bugs #insects #Miridae

#MiteBehaviour

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