65x illumination with Leitz Ortholux Ultropak. Stack 50 images with Zerene.
Red Bugs
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
Red Bugs
My wife is worried about an infestation of these critters outside our apartment. She thinks they may be ticks. I doubt it; but I have no idea what they are. They are just barely visible to the unaided eye and move very fast over a concrete wall. When trying to capture them most just smeared; but I managed to scoop up a few using a cotton swab. Here are two after a formaldehyde bath. ID anyone?
65x illumination with Leitz Ortholux Ultropak. Stack 50 images with Zerene.
65x illumination with Leitz Ortholux Ultropak. Stack 50 images with Zerene.
Red spider mite was the first thought but they tend to be plant-dwellers it seems. Bouncing round the net reveals that a lot of people have trouble being overwhelmed with something small and red in the house.
Suggestions are
Anystis baccarum
or Clover mites Bryobia praetiosa
or Balaustium murorum looks closest to my untrained eye.
You ARE lucky having subjects come to you. Everything runs away from me, so I turned to mosses. I'm quick enough for those.
Suggestions are
Anystis baccarum
or Clover mites Bryobia praetiosa
or Balaustium murorum looks closest to my untrained eye.
You ARE lucky having subjects come to you. Everything runs away from me, so I turned to mosses. I'm quick enough for those.
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Ichthyophthirius
- Posts: 1152
- Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2013 5:24 am
It's going to be hard to ID these without preparation (and location information and a scale bar).
However, from the ecology, I would suppose that these are from one of the many species of red velvet mites (e.g. Balaustium).
http://bugguide.net/node/view/125363
These are a common occurance on buildings. They are harmless, feeding off other arthropods, pollen and plant material.
However, from the ecology, I would suppose that these are from one of the many species of red velvet mites (e.g. Balaustium).
http://bugguide.net/node/view/125363
These are a common occurance on buildings. They are harmless, feeding off other arthropods, pollen and plant material.
Did you find this site? centre of the page...:
http://brew.cocolog-nifty.com/tsubomi/2 ... _5321.html
http://brew.cocolog-nifty.com/tsubomi/2 ... _5321.html
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Ichthyophthirius
- Posts: 1152
- Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2013 5:24 am
@Baley
Proper identification of mites is a very difficult task. The identification requires mounted adult specimen (cleared and prepared on a slide), usually a series. The identification of mite larvae (nymphs) is often impossible. You need the prepared slides to see microscopic details, such as hairs, mouthparts and genitalia, which are important for identification.
You can make an educated guess based on ecology and macroscopic images, as with Balaustium here, but a "save" determination requires more effort.
Here is a primer on mite preparation:
http://www.publish.csiro.au/web_cds_dem ... sification
Proper identification of mites is a very difficult task. The identification requires mounted adult specimen (cleared and prepared on a slide), usually a series. The identification of mite larvae (nymphs) is often impossible. You need the prepared slides to see microscopic details, such as hairs, mouthparts and genitalia, which are important for identification.
You can make an educated guess based on ecology and macroscopic images, as with Balaustium here, but a "save" determination requires more effort.
Here is a primer on mite preparation:
http://www.publish.csiro.au/web_cds_dem ... sification