In a 20' x 20' area, I have about 25 cacti and succulents. Two of the cacti are opuntia santa ritas, a really cool prickly, the pads of which turn red from time to time. On these two cacti, I have small mite-like insects crawling all over. Distinguishing feature is a bright red abdomen. in the larger bugs (adults?), that abdomen is about the size of a BB. My iPad camera cannot focus on these tiny things.
None of my other garden members have these red bugs. In between the two santa ritas, I have a hybrid known as opuntia baby rita. same red pad feature, but a clumping cactus with silver-dollar shaped pads. No red bugs on the baby rita.
I'll see if my digital camera can zoom in enough to capture a photo.
The cacti appear to be healthy. maybe I should not be concerned?
