#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 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

gotta stay on brand

here's a sidewalk mite (_Balaustium_) feeding on some predatory mite, Rhagidiidae or Cunaxidae or thereabouts; and an _Admestina_ jumping spider I found near pine trees in a nearby park. I find such interesting arthropods around pines that I don't see anywhere else.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #DailySpiderPic #arachnids #mites #spiders #JumpingSpiders #Acari #Acariformes #Erythraeidae #Araneae #Salticidae

And just as I got home I saw a snout mite (family Bdellidae) feeding on a springtail on a patch of lichen, and had to go in and get my light and clip-on lenses to get a proper photo.

#DailyMitePic #Mitestodon #mites #springtails #Acari #Acariformes #Prostigmata #Bdellidae #Collembola #LichenSubscribe

Down by the lake I noticed a mite that seemed small for a trombidiid and large for an erythraeid…only on looking more closely did I notice that its dark red body had a gorgeous iridescent blue-green sheen! I think this may be a _Balaustium_ species, but not one of the ones I usually see. I've only seen this kind once before!

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

Happy post-postscript: today I learned by very carefully pulling the floret petals apart, I could easily free most mites.

Pic 1: whirligig mites stuck on milkweed, circled in magenta.

Pic 2: a rescued whirligig mite drinking on a tissue I put a bit of water on.

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