Mastodawn

In summer when I was looking for galls to photograph for National Gall Week, I suspected that many were high above in the trees. Come autumn some of the leafy sort began drifting to ground...the first I noticed literally fell into my lap as I was sitting for a coffee break while woodcutting! That one is yet to come, this one came along the next day (mid October). Possibly Poplar Gall Mite Phyllocoptes populi, on a leaf of Populus balsamifera Balsam
Poplar
#Alberta #insects #Gall #Mite #nature

Frank Ashwood Nov 6

It's week 3 of fatherhood, and today I was granted special dispensation from shopping, housework, nappies and feeding, to do a brief spot of macrophotography in the sunshine, brilliant!

The highlight was this incredible Oribatid mite, sporting long defensive spines (Neotrichozetes spinulosa). I've nicknamed it the Hellraiser mite, which seems to be catching on - feel free to use it too!

#Macrophotography #SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #Acari #Entomology #Nature #NaturePhotography #Acarology #Mite

Stefan F. Wirth Oct 29

In my new YouTube #video, I tell the #hypothetical story of a #Histiostomatidae #mite that lived its #lifehistory in the #dung heap of the #dinosaur #Edmontosaurus #annectens during the Late #Cretaceous. It developed #fungivorously within the dung and, when conditions deteriorated, was #transported by #flies to a new habitat (phoresis). All images and footage created with #AI assistance, except photos of free-living mites.
© #StefanFWirth 2025

Video
https://youtu.be/gzv-TZmU5G4?si=zrTLfrC96k3KEGqr

Pics
© S.F. Wirth

John Dal Oct 6

This little beasty popped out from between the gills of a 'shroom I was trying to photo. A Moss Mite I'm told , something like Damaeus onustus.
#Arachnid #mite #Invertebrate #Nature #Macro

Stefan F. Wirth Sep 29

Why a #mite of the #Parasitidae (#Mesostigmata), apparently genus #Parasitellus, seemingly attacks moth #Pyrausta #despicata (Crambidae). Parasitellus develops in #bumblebee #nests and uses them for dispersal (#phoresy) to other nests, thus they leave their hosts on blossoms and wait for new hosts to be carried to new nests. The moth was detected by the mite as a #nonsuitable #phoretic #host.

Visit my new YouTube Video:
https://youtu.be/gRAT7CIKWTk?si=hb2LC19Fmf1URVl6

Photos
©S.F. Wirth

scy Sep 23

Hey Fedi, I need your help identifying these tiny critters. What are they? And how do I get rid of them, because I, uh, kinda got an infestation in my van's bathroom.

Some kind of #mite?

Photo with finger for scale, and videos made with a cheap USB microscope.

Feel free to suggest additional hashtags to help with identification.

#FediHelp #mites #acarology #species #identification #pests

gerg Sep 4

Some teeny little red mites, Tetranychidae sp. These guys show up each year on the same plant in my garden - some sort of weedy vine that I let grow in an otherwise-bare patch - and I have good fun taking snaps of them.

#macro #nature #mite #spidermite

gerg Aug 25

A teeny little red snout mite that absolutely refused to stay still, Bdellidae sp.

#macro #nature #mite #snoutmite #arachnid

Marco Hackney Aug 21

#Amblyseius #mite patrolling a leaf of
#Alocasia #puncakborneensis in search of #thrips

##AlocasiaPuncakborneensis

Paula Borchardt Aug 20

Do you know what a group of Ravens is called? Here are 7 that I illustrated for my Perpetual Journal. Learn more fun collective nouns for birds on my blog post https://paulaborchardt.substack.com/p/ravens-soaring-overhead

#SciArt #art #illustration #watercolor #painting #sketchbook #NatureJournal #NatureJournaling #PerpetualJournal #blog #Tucson #SonoranDesert #biodiversity #environment #nature #wildflower #BloomScrolling #insect #arthropod #arachnid #bug #bugs #bugstodon #butterfly #mite #bird #birding #BirdsOfMastodon #Raven