Kommt vorbei!

#Caffamacherreihe 47, #Gängeviertel, #U2 #Gänsemarkt ca. 50m vom #Bezirksamt #Mite.

Some flies go insomniac to ward off #parasites: There are negative consequences for the flies, but they avoid being eaten alive, 20250502,
by Elizabeth R,
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/05/some-flies-go-insomniac-to-ward-off-parasites/

It was a relatively nice day, so I went out to take some photos. Here are some bugs I found.
Not sure what the black fly is exactly, could be a mosquito, could be a kind of midge.

Spotted new galls forming on an oak that has volunteered in a bad location next to a years-old catalpa and the clothesline.

Not just that big bulbous green one, but little "mosquito bite" ones starting up in adjacent branches.

My #SEM shows a female of the #mite #Histiostoma sp. (H. feroniarum-complex, special fixation) on #rottenlemon from Italy, #feeding a mixture of #fungi and #bacteria. It is seen from above and displays the symmetrically #fenestrated #proterosomashield that i.a. stabilizes muscle origins and still needs research. I published research information on that mite as poster #publication.

© #StefanFWirth Berlin (2006-) 2025

Poster S. F. Wirth, FAO, Global Soil Partners. (2024)
https://www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/gsid24/posters/en/

Have you ever wondered: "Where's the Venn-diagram overlap between oribatid mites and the Hellraiser movies?"

Of course you have.

Therefore, it is my pleasure to present to you the Pinhead of the oribatid mite world, Neotrichozetes spinulosa!

Mite hairdos don't get much crazier than this!

Our Desert Senna attracts many larvae & butterflies including this Gray Hairstreak Butterfly I illustrated for my Perpetual Journal. I painted the Red Velvet Mites for my 2023 PJ entry for the same week.

Usually I choose 1 subject to draw each week in my Perpetual Journal but recently I had *2* cool subjects I couldn’t decide between so I drew both: a Black-headed Grosbeak & an Antlion.

Collective ball of two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) on a dying dahlia. It's assumed they do this to aid in wind and animal dispersal. #mite #arachnid #nature #silk #web #dahlia #bud #pests #plants #flowers #photography #MiteMonday

Immature dahlia flower encased in a web made by two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae). The webbing serves as protection and a way for mites to get around. Fun fact: silk is made in salivary glands on mouthparts, not from abdominal spinnerets like spiders. #mite #arachnid #nature #silk #web #dahlia #bud #photography #Mitemonday

In my latest blog post I shared my Perpetual Journal art of a Gray Hairstreak Butterfly & Red Velvet Mites + natural history info & stories of seeing these in my Tucson, AZ yard.

https://paulaborchardt.substack.com/p/a-gray-hairstreak-butterfly

The good thing about being a macrophotographer and soil ecologist, is that I can still find beauty in unusual places - such as when SPIDER MITES are ravaging my houseplants.

Watching these little Tetranychid nightmares traversing their tiny silk tightropes between leaves was oddly entertaining!

Let's keep #MiteMonday going!

This week we have a shoutout to this whirligig mite for showing us that, even when you're an active predator chasing down the next springtail to eat, there's ALWAYS time to stop for a little self-care.

This photo always strikes me as a good example of how the micro-world is just a scaled-down, crazy mirror of our own reality.

Is there really much difference between a deer grazing as it walks through a forest and this Oribatid mite grazing as it wanders through a cluster of slime mould sporangia?

#Australia abandons efforts to eradicate deadly #parasite #varroa #mite after 15 months

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-20/varroa-mite-eradication-efforts-abandoned-australia/102876418

>Resources will be reallocated to slowing the spread of the #pest
>Non-compliance from #beekeepers and illegal #hive movement was a major factor in the failed eradication effort
>#Government and #industry groups made the unanimous decision to move to a #management approach

Well, Tasmania wins the 'best Prostigmata' award!

Is anyone familiar with this amazingly feathered Trombidiform mite? I've never seen a red velvet mite like this!