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Balaustium sp.
Sidewalk Mites
Concrete Mites
Pollen Mites
Florida native
These tiny mites can be found, often in great numbers, in the spring and early summer from the Gainesville area northward. The range includes most of North America and Europe and scattered locations worldwide.
Large for mites, Balaustium are tiny, often red and have eight legs. Some species have white abdominal markings.
Most species are predators as adults, but several of the species feed on pollen instead.
BALAUSTIUM SPP. IN FLORIDA (ACARI: ERYTHRAEIDAE) Florida State Collection of Arthropods Entomology Circular Issue No. 368, W.C. Welbourn, 1995
Balaustium putmani is known to occur in North Carolina, where these photographs were made.
Balaustium sp. is a member of the Erythraeidae - Erythraeid mites family.
iNaturalist profile for this species
For more information on this species, visit the following link:
Bugguide.net page for this genus
Date record last modified: Jul 16, 2023
