#mitemonday

Have some oribatid mites for #MiteMonday. These tiny detritivorous soil-dwelling mites look kind of like shiny poppy seeds. The plates on their sides are called pteromorphs ("wing-shaped") and are a feature of certain groups. #bugstodon #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Oribatida #Poronota

#MiteMonday: I chased this sidewalk mite around a bocce ball court in a park for ages because I thought it was one of the iridescent blue-green ones, only to find out it just had some green stuff on it. 😐 It looks kind of like lichen but I have no idea how lichen would even grow on a mite. It's probably some random paint or powder or algae-filled water that dried on it. #Mitestodon #arachnids #mites #Acari #Acariformes #Erythraeidae