The Red Velvet Mite (Trombidiidae)

The red velvet mite as the name indicates sure looks like a little velvet pillow or a velvet cushion and it is red in colour. The red coloured hair on its body gives it that beautiful velvety look and feel. 

Red velvet mite
By Thomas Shahan [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Mites are tiny arthropods and they belong to the class Arachnida. Mites are found in almost all parts of the world, and there are various sizes ranging microscopic to half a centimeter. They survive in temperatures below freezing to hot desert areas where the temperature is around 50 degrees Celsius. 

The velvet mites have a species called Trombidium grandissimum that are endemic to the Northern parts of India and they grow up to 1 or 1.5 cm, depending on the temperature, weather conditions and the quality and quantity of food that they eat. 

It is surprising isn't it? For a mite to grow up to this size!

Red Velvet mites
Ton Rulkens [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

These mites are very interesting creatures in so many ways. They spend most of their life under the soil and come above the soil when there is rain. During these few hours they search for food, eat and also mate.

Their mating process is an interesting one, where the male deposits spermatophore on a twig or a leaf and lays an intricate silken path to invite the female to the spermatophore. If the female is impressed with the male, she sits on the spermatophore and gets fertilised. To read more in detail about these mites, please follow the link below.

The Red Velvet Mite (Trombidiidae)

The life cycle of these mites are made up of six stages:

• Eggs
• Pre-larval stage
• Larval stage
• Protonymph
• Deutonymph
• Tritonymph
• Adult

The larvae have only three pairs of legs while the adults have four pairs of legs. The legs are arranged in four spots on its body (two in each spot), which is completely different to the leg arrangement of other arachnids.

This picture shows the arrangement of legs
Source: cirrusimage.com

The larvae are parasitic and feed on the haemolymph of other insects like grasshoppers, aphids etc.

Larvae of red velvet mite on a host 
Source: bugguide.net

The adult red velvet mites feed on other insects, their eggs and larvae that are sometimes pests for agriculture. They also feed on certain arthropods that eat the useful fungi and bacteria available in the soil, thereby maintaining a balance in the soil ecosystem. 

Red Velvet mites on Convolvulus arvensis flower

The red velvet mites have various uses in the field of medicine and are collected in large numbers. The oil prepared from this mite is known to have medicinal values like cure for paralysis and boosting the immune system. However, we should stop buying products prepared from these mites, because these mites play a very important role in the ecosystem and if they are lost, it will break the chain and lead to destruction of the soil ecosystem.

Please follow the link below to read more about these mites in detail:

The Red Velvet Mite (Trombidiidae)

I would love to hear from you. If you have seen this mite and have any experiences to share, please feel free to share. Also, if you know something more interesting about these mites, please feel free to share. 

I wish you all a lovely week ahead.

Peace and love,

Livingsta :-)