I picked this beetle from the floor (it was almost dead, my house was fumigated 3 days ago) and noticed something strange. I took it to where there was more light, and saw it had it's hind legs full of what I though at the time spiders. After freaking out about maybe having them running wild on me now, I took pictures of them. What are they, and, are they running wild on my body now!? (or inside my notebook!)
Thanks in advance!
No need to worry about these - they are mites that likely merely are hitching a ride on the beetle to get to a food source, a phenomenon known as phoresy. There are many beetle-mite associations, and scarab beetles (such as your specimen) are particularly apt to be so used. These associations also can be parasitic (to the beetle) in nature, but the sucker-like structure visible on these mites appears more typical of phoretic than parasitic mites.
Thanks a lot suunto!
