Harvestman spiders like this Mitopus morio turn up quite frequently in our garden at this time of year and quite a few of them carry these little scarlet parasitic spider mites - which apparently are mite larvae belong to a genus called Leptus - attached to their legs and body.
I really need to catch one of these and take a look under the microscope - at this magnification they just look like little blobs of red sealing wax.
You can see another kind of parasitic mite, on bumblebees, here
Fascinating Phil. Can't say I've ever noticed that so I will have to keep a lookout.
ReplyDeleteI will have to look more closely....as always these are fascinating.
ReplyDeleteHi John, quite a few seem to be plagued by these mites, especially late in the season..
ReplyDeleteAdd a bit of colour, don't they Adrian...
ReplyDelete