Laurie's mite-infested moth HERE
reminded me that Odonates often carry a heavy mite load.
This female Eastern Forktail ( Ischnura verticalis) shows a typical infestation.
These are larvae of water mites (Hydrachnida). They initially attach to the cuticle of the larval dragonfly/damselfly and then transfer to the adult as it emerges from the larval skin.
They feed on the adult's blood and eventually drop off into water where they finally moult to adult mites.
A scan from earlier odonate-inventory days.
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
