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Project Noah Nature School
Found this in my dog's water bowl. It's head was crawling with tiny bugs, looked similar to small aphids. We placed it on a nearby tree.
Yes, they are phoretic mites, they use the beetle for travel, not food. Phoresy just means hitchhiking(I got that question wrong on an Insect Behavior exam) The mites merely hitch a ride on the beetles, but provide them no benefit. In some cases their numbers become so large as to pose a hindrance to their host.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRuURUkax...
There are mites that feed on insect hosts.
Huh... I was was told that phoretic mites are not beetle eaters, and that they are practicing phoresy -- which by definition is mutually beneficial to both parties (beetle and mite in this case). That being said, I'm sure that there are varieties of non-phoretic mites that do harm these beetles.
Sorry, TKBotting, but those mites are not completely harmless to the beetles. They actually suck their blood, and can transmit diseases to their hosts.
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http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/133...
They are cool! The little bugs are mites that are harmless to the beetles!
