Any amateur entomologists around here? Or pet-pest experts?

While putting in my contacts this afternoon, I noticed a smallish fly on the mirror, maybe a yellow fly or deer fly. Wondering why it wasn't doing the fly-y thing of flying, I looked closer & could see the most minuscule of creatures hanging off it. (Yes I know it's always Wild Kingdom in my house.)

I would have guessed the tiny hanger-on to be a deer tick except that it has actual claws like a crab, not just hooks like a tick or louse. Can't really get a pic because both of these insects are super-tiny, plus I lose my extra-close-up vision once my contacts are in.

Sort of vague info, but can anyone hazard a guess or point me toward good regional info? I'm a bit concerned about my dog & cats out here with new pests I might not know about. (I just read that Lyme is a possibility here on the coast, which I'd never expected.)

I'll schedule a consult with the vet but don't have anyone I really trust yet. The clinic in town must be some sort of teaching site because we never see the same person twice.

Lyme is pretty new here and still relatively rare, but we do have it. Even ticks are kind of a new phenomenon.

I don't really know my insects, so I can't pipe in other than to say that. :-)

Summerkid - I have NO idea, but maybe you can find a look alike for the claw bearing one:

http://www.google.com/search?q=insect+claws&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=CzG&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivnsfd&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=01cGTtGNO-7OiAKimv24DQ&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1014&bih=718

wannadanc, that's perfect! The tiny hitchhiker/parasite was a pseudoscorpion, and the Web site had a photo of one hanging off a fly just like I saw.

Oh yay, whole new categories of bugs to research. DG never lets me down.

wow - so glad that worked for you!!!!!!!

Yeah, so check it out: These minuscule arachnids (body is about 1/16" wide) molt 3 times over several years as young'uns, then live a few more years as adults! That tiny, tiny creature on my bathroom mirror could have been born in 2001.

They are beneficial to humans in that they feed on booklice, dust mites, etc. The ps.scorpion I saw was not attacking the deerfly but hitching a ride.

So fascinating.