JinxieRuthie Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 This little guy apparently landed on my shirt last night when I took out the trash. My husband saw him clinging on when I came back inside. It goes to show that sometimes the bugs find you! Upon closer inspection, I noticed a couple of odd things. First, I think he has a mild case of phoretic mites, but I'm certainly no mite expert so I could be wrong. Second, for some reason, this specimen is missing both of his front tarsi. I can understand one being lost, but both? From what I can tell, I believe he may be Geotrupes blackburnii. I am located in central Alabama, by the way. Let me know what you guys think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucanus Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Geotrupes for sure. But species could be wrong as there are several species of Geotrupes in the U.S. that look really similar to each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JinxieRuthie Posted April 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 It is VERY possible the species may be incorrect. It's a pretty tiny specimen. Here are some microscopic shots of the mites. They are pretty neat, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JinxieRuthie Posted April 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 I just realized I misspelled Geotrupes in the title line. Oops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardshell Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 how do you take pics of microscope? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JinxieRuthie Posted April 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 I just focused the scope like you normally would. Then I just held my camera up to the eye piece, focused the camera, and done! It actually worked much, much better than I thought it would. Often times the simplest method is not the one that actually works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardshell Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 wow thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Clausen Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Mites are very common on wild caught dung beetles and carrion/burying beetles. I'd call that a very mild case, actually. What it interesting is the color of the mites. I usually see much paler ones on the beetles I find. I'm not familiar with your species, but a lot of insects have reduced/shorter segments before the tarsi, particularly it seems if they are burrowing species. Sometimes they are quite flexible and bend back during digging or feeding. Yours does appear to have missing tarsi though, possibly from the wear and tear of burying so much good stuff. Farmers love a dung beetle! (I edited the title per your suggestion.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucanus Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 The mites in the pics "mite" be Gamasid mites (pun intended. lol) They are beneficial mites that feed on other tiny organisms including nematodes. They commonly hijack on beetles for transportation purpose. Smart, aren't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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