Mitey Vermillion. Red Velvet Mite, Trombidioidea sp., on Frit Fly, Chloropidae sp., Lovage, Levisticum officinale, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
This morning I was looking carefully at the greenish-yellow umbels of some Lovage, Levisticum officinale, known in Dutch as Maggi and a favorite ingredient of soup. Lots of little insects mostly blackish and bluish or in the case of hoverflies striped yellow-black. But then my eye caught a tiny pinprick as it were of vermillion red. It was attached to a Frit Fly, a Chloropidae, perhaps a Chlorops of some kind. I think our Red Parasitic Friend is a Trombidioidea, possibly a larva of Trombidium holosericeum. Fly is perhaps 3-4 mm long and Mite much smaller; but winging away Fly hardly seemed troubled by its load.
It's amazing what Olymp's glass eye given the right instructions can do...
Mitey Vermillion. Red Velvet Mite, Trombidioidea sp., on Frit Fly, Chloropidae sp., Lovage, Levisticum officinale, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
This morning I was looking carefully at the greenish-yellow umbels of some Lovage, Levisticum officinale, known in Dutch as Maggi and a favorite ingredient of soup. Lots of little insects mostly blackish and bluish or in the case of hoverflies striped yellow-black. But then my eye caught a tiny pinprick as it were of vermillion red. It was attached to a Frit Fly, a Chloropidae, perhaps a Chlorops of some kind. I think our Red Parasitic Friend is a Trombidioidea, possibly a larva of Trombidium holosericeum. Fly is perhaps 3-4 mm long and Mite much smaller; but winging away Fly hardly seemed troubled by its load.
It's amazing what Olymp's glass eye given the right instructions can do...