Wee Mite Mention

Yesterday, on the concrete around the crabapple tree, I noticed thousands of tiny mites.  At first, I only saw the bright red adults, but, on closer inspection, I discovered that they had laid millions of tiny white eggs in the holes formed when the cement was laid.

After a little while of watching the mites come and go, I saw a newly-hatched ladybug beetle. It was wandering around eating stray individuals at a leisurely pace. It was actually kind of cute. I watched this for a bit, until the ladybug meandered into the grass.

When I got up, my arms and hands were covered in frightened mites! Now I know not to lie down next to a swarm of mites!

Article by Peter.  Photo from sxc.hu.