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Pseudoscorpion attacking Pine Sawyer antenna? Nope: Phoresy

Posted by June 8th, 2005 at 12:00 am

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Pseudoscorpions

What could this be?
The attached photos are of some type of insect or arachnid that was on one of the antenna of a white spotted pine sawyer. We thought it was a scorpion but when we got a close up of it, it seemed to look more like a tick or mite of some sort. Maybe you can help identify what it is. My co-workers and myself are interested to know what it is,as we work for a pest control company.
Thanks in advance for your help,
Tiffany

Hi tiffany,
You have photographed a harmless Pseudoscorpion. they are known to prey on insects much larger than them, but I think the Pine Sawyer might have proven to be too much for the wee guy. Thanks for the photos.

We thought origionally that it was a scorpion of some sort but the missing stinger and tail threw us off thank you for helping us identify our mystery bug. I will deffinatly be visiting your site again as sometimes we get pests that we are unable to identify on our own.
Tiffany

Ed. Note: Eric Eaton just provided the following fascinating information. “P.S. Oh, that pseudoscorpion was not ‘attacking’ that longhorn beetle’s antenna, it was hitching a ride:-) That is the way they get around (just glom onto something that can fly). It is called ‘phoresy.’ “

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