Download high resolution image here.

I found this mite attached to a weevil collected by sweeping foliage with a net on Tree Spring Trl. (No. 147), 8600 ft, Sandia Crest 7.5’ quadrangle in the Sandia Mountains, Bernalillo Co, NM. The mite remains firmly anchored by its mouthparts to the dorsal surface of the host's front femur. I have included a thumbnail link under each of the three main views of the mite to a wider view of the host itself from the same perspective.

I've placed it tentatively in Leptus based on similarity to other posted images such as this one, and the detailed drawings of Fain and Jocqué(1). Expert confimation is needed, however.

Host from this perspective:



This image is from a CombineZP processed stack of 206 images with a 2.7 µm step taken with a Mitutoyo BD Plan APO 20X/0.42 microscope objective + Nikon 300 mm F4 AF ED IF macro lens + Nikon D300 camera (magnification 30X; technique described here).