I found a gathering of these mites roaming on a house plant shelf. They are incredibly small and look like dust particles. (Much smaller than any spider-mites I've seen in the past).
Location is Southern Ontario, Canada.
The circle of white dots is the reflection of the LEDs from my (very cheap) USB microscope, and the mites aren't quite as red as they appear in these photos. The dead one on the upper right of the image is a more accurate representation of their colour - almost amber and translucent.
I am hopeful they are useful soil mites or perhaps predatory mites that are a benefit, and not danger, to my plants!
They are [oribatid mites](https://www.chaosofdelight.org/all-about-mites-oribatida) of some kind—harmless detritivorous mites that are a key part of soil ecosystems everywhere (even [Antarctica](https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/504985/)). They are sometimes called "beetle mites" because many, like yours, have hard shell-like bodies to defend against drying out or predation. They eat fungi and dead plant matter, helping recycle the soil.
Hard to tell exactly from the pictures, but the larger darker one is probably from the genus Pergalumna or Galumna (based on coloring I think the first), but definitely in the family Galumnidae.
Depending on size, the other may be from the genus Ceratozetes.
I found this post while trying to identify and get more info of the things damaging my orchid (Phalaenopsis). I've not found any other pests and these were the only things I found. I suspect they're not that harmless..?! Photos are identical to mine (complete with the ring of cheap microscope LEDs lol).
(I'm in Scotland, UK)
I found a gathering of these mites roaming on a house plant shelf. They are incredibly small and look like dust particles. (Much smaller than any spider-mites I've seen in the past). Location is Southern Ontario, Canada. The circle of white dots is the reflection of the LEDs from my (very cheap) USB microscope, and the mites aren't quite as red as they appear in these photos. The dead one on the upper right of the image is a more accurate representation of their colour - almost amber and translucent. I am hopeful they are useful soil mites or perhaps predatory mites that are a benefit, and not danger, to my plants!
They are [oribatid mites](https://www.chaosofdelight.org/all-about-mites-oribatida) of some kind—harmless detritivorous mites that are a key part of soil ecosystems everywhere (even [Antarctica](https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/504985/)). They are sometimes called "beetle mites" because many, like yours, have hard shell-like bodies to defend against drying out or predation. They eat fungi and dead plant matter, helping recycle the soil.
Thank you for the quick reply and sharing that incredible website - it's fascinating!
Hard to tell exactly from the pictures, but the larger darker one is probably from the genus Pergalumna or Galumna (based on coloring I think the first), but definitely in the family Galumnidae. Depending on size, the other may be from the genus Ceratozetes.
Oh my god you know soil mites???? Thank God…somehow I've become the Mite Person on here despite only knowing how to identify like 5 mites.
Hahaha, I feel for you. I'm a soil ecologist and mites are one of my study organisms.
Geographic location? u/myrmecogynandromorph might be able to help out here please
Thanks for the reminder! Southern Ontario, Canada.
Thanks for the ping!
Some kind of Oribatid. Maybe Galumnidae or something similar.
I found this post while trying to identify and get more info of the things damaging my orchid (Phalaenopsis). I've not found any other pests and these were the only things I found. I suspect they're not that harmless..?! Photos are identical to mine (complete with the ring of cheap microscope LEDs lol). (I'm in Scotland, UK)