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small brown moth (about 1/2 in wide), with red bug (mite) stuck on its back. ID request for both the brown moth, and the red mite :)
while getting out my hummingbird feeders I noticed a brown moth with what I thought was a red marking between its wings. Was going to take photos to see if I could ID it. It wasn't until after I loaded the photos to my computer that I noticed the red spot wasn't a marking at all, but some sort of mite attached to the moth. I have taken photos of flies having mites before, but this is the first I have seen them on moths. Unfortunately I did not have my macro lens handy so couldn't get any closer than the photos posted.
Spotted on Apr 2, 2012
Submitted on Apr 5, 2012
13 Comments
Wow very interesting bayucca and thank you! will visit and read the resource links this evening (if i can get online at home, dumb dial-up doesn't always work)...
Looks like a velvet mite from the Trombidiidae. The nymphs are parasiting insects and the adults are feeding on insect eggs. In Europe we have quite a lot of Trombidium sp.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trombidiida...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trombidium
http://bugguide.net/node/view/2419/bgpag...
Very interesting Freelancing. I just viewed your spotting and it looks like it could be the same type of parasite. both tiny, red, and tick like... The only other bug I have found with a parasite, is believe it or not a fly...was taking close-up shots of a fly who kept swiping at its head - I thought it was just cleaning itself. Wasn't until I looked at the photos on the PC when I noticed, it wasn't cleaning itself, it was trying to knock the parasite off. check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/maryevans/5... after looking at the fly photo again, it too appears to be this same parasite.
Fascinating. I've never seen a moth or butterfly with a parasite before, either. Today, I uploaded a spotting of a common pill bug. Like you, it wasn't until I looked at the photos on the computer that I spotted a small red parasite on the pill bug's head... small to me, but compared to the host, it must feel enormous... would be like walking around with a football stuck to you.
Thank you Francis
Thank you Tanya :)
what an interesting find, thanks for posting.
Thank you Karen for the link, I now have it bookmarked, and thank you Patricia for the genus. I will be researching both a bit more when I get the chance.
I think that the parasite may be a species of the genus Varroa sp., which usually affects the bees (I think that looks very much)
Poor thing! I spotted a zebra swallowtail with what I took to be a remnant of its chrysalis stuck to its thorax but butterfliesandmoths.org have advised that it is most likely a parasite of some kind.
Haha its eat or be eaten in this wild world! :)
lol that is one way to look at it jgoneau :)
Poor guy, at least for the moth; I guess the parasite was lucky!