Not Locust Mites but Larval Water Mites on Dragonfly

danielj

August 7th, 2004 at 12:00 am

Categories

mites?
Hello Bugman,
I just came over your site on the internet. I like taking macro shots of insect and today I have taken an interesting one. There are were some red dots on the wing of a dragonfly. I think maybe they can be some sort of insects or mites. I live in Hungary, Europe I hope you can help me anyway…
Best regards.
Ambruzs Péter

mites on dragonfly Not Locust Mites but Larval Water Mites on Dragonfly

Dear Ambruzs Péter,
Your photo is beautiful. We suspect you have photographed the Locust Mite, Eutrombidium rostratum. Essig writes that it : “is the common locust mite of the United States and Europe. It is a large bright red species. … They are often taken on the body and wings of grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, and mantids, and do not attack humans.” Even if it is not that exact species, you have most definitely photographed mites hitching a ride on your dragonfly.

Update from Barry M. OConnor (05/23/2006)
Locust mites on dragonfly (8/7/04). You’re close here. These mites are related to trombidiids, erythraeids and chiggers, but are actually larval water mites in the family Arrenuridae, genus Arrenurus. Water mites have the same life cycle as their terrestrial relatives (i.e. parasitic larva, predatory post-larvae), but the predatory stages are fully aquatic, living in ponds, lakes and streams. Arrenurus species commonly parasitize odonates. Unlike the red larvae, the post-larvae are a beautiful greenish blue, and are good swimmers in ponds & lakes.

add Not Locust Mites but Larval Water Mites on Dragonfly

I like This

Trackbacks & Pingbacks 1

From Dragonflies of the arch « farmhouse stories on 01 Aug 2011 at 4:47 pm ¶
[...] photo below, until I was looking at the image on my computer. After searching on Bugguide.net and Whatsthatbug.com, I think they are parasitic, larval water mites (family Arrenuridae, genus Arrenurus). White-faced [...]