This is indeed a true velvet mite (Trombidiidae) and is likely in the genus Allothrombium. I thought I would make a note to the previous comment by "annorion" that technically the chigger identification isn't totally wrong... because the photo Wikipedia shows for "chigger" is actually a trombidiid, not a chigger :) Photographs of adult chiggers (not the parasitic larvae) are actually quite rare. In fact, I only know of one image on the internet (http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecolog...) depicting a true chigger. Interestingly, this photo comes from a website (http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecolog...) that misidentifies two other velvet mite families (Trombidiidae and Eutrombidiidae) as chiggers (Trombiculidae). Anyway, hope you find this information interesting and helpful.
They are part of a breeding program. My babies are all grown up and ready to go to their new homes!
A little gray bird with an echoing voice, the Tufted Titmouse is common in eastern deciduous forests and a frequent visitor to feeders. The large black eyes, small, round bill, and brushy crest gives these birds a quiet but eager expression that matches the way they flit through canopies, hang from twig-ends, and drop in to bird feeders. When a titmouse finds a large seed, you’ll see it carry the prize to a perch and crack it with sharp whacks of its stout bill.
Are these part of a study or breeding program or such (they are very cool by the way)?
Mapping Nature on Your Smartphone
For the developers at New York start-up Networked Organisms, smartphones are the butterfly nets of the 21st Century. Their tool, Project Noah, lets people upload photos of plants and wildlife around them, creating a map of the natural world and contributing to scientific research in the process.
What kind of beetle? This app knows
Bespectacled scientists of yore would carry around hefty field guides, made up of hundreds of pages of text and photos. But these days, smartphone owners have a lighter option: an app called Project Noah, which aims to help people identify plants and animals as well as collect data from "citizen scientists" about where certain species are located.
Designing ecosystems for talent development
Project Noah enables us to be part of a more focused online community where we can learn more about wildlife around us and contribute to scientific research. It pulls participants into deeper, more meaningful engagement by enabling people to go on “missions” to collectively map changes based on sightings.
A smart way to save wildlife
A modern invention that may also hold the key to saving species in the future. Project Noah is a global study that encourages nature lovers to document the wildlife they encounter, using a purpose built phone app and web community. In addition to the virtual "collection" of species, Project Noah encourages citizen science by linking up with existing surveys including the International Spider Survey and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.
Dial-a-Class
New mobile applications include a tool called NOAH that lets you take cellphone pictures of bugs and trees and then sends back an identification of the exact type in as little as 24 hours.
