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
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 
#MiteMonday #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acariformes #Anystidae
#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
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
#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
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
neville park
Stefan F. Wirth