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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Mites and Ticks (Acari) » Acariformes » Trombidiformes » Prostigs (Prostigmata) » Anystina » Parasitengona - velvet mites (including chiggers) & water mites » Trombidiina - short-legged velvet mites & water mites » velvet mites and chiggers (Trombidioidea) » true velvet mites (Trombidiidae) » Allothrombium
Photo#339356
Red Velvet Mite with ant prey - Allothrombium
Copyright © 2009 Andrew Williams

Red Velvet Mite with ant prey - Allothrombium
Overland Park, Johnson County, Kansas, USA
September 27, 2009
Red velvet mite with ant prey

Images of this individual: tag all
Red Velvet Mite with ant prey - Allothrombium red velvet mite - prey ? - Allothrombium
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Contributed by Andrew Williams on 1 October, 2009 - 4:20pm
Last updated 7 June, 2015 - 7:28am

Moved
Moved from true velvet mites.
… Ray Fisher, 7 June, 2015 - 7:28am login or register to post comments

Feeding
Did you see the mite attack the ant or photograph it later? Also, did you observe it feeding, or just passing it by? I'm working with velvet mites for my PhD, and am running into some stumbling blocks with foraging behavior. It was (before seeing this image) becoming apparent to me these mites are not the vicious predators I once thought, but instead scavenge, or eat eggs. What do you think?
… Ray Fisher, 5 January, 2010 - 2:59pm login or register to post comments

 
as i recall
I found the mite on a rock trying to get at something in a small pit in the rock. It was crouched over the pit trying to reach in there with it's mouth-parts. I couldn't even really tell what it was after at the time. I don't know what happened previous to that, so I'm unsure whether it found the ant dead, or killed it. I suspect it found it. Hope that's helpful, and good luck with your PhD work.
… Andrew Williams, 5 January, 2010 - 3:57pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… Andrew Williams, 2 October, 2009 - 6:38pm login or register to post comments

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