possible grayling with weird red egg both for id

[crispy]

I thought this was a greyling but on closer inspection i found it had this strange bright red egg/parasite lodged at the bottom of its wing. Can anyone confirm the butterfly species and the weird red thing attached ???

[petereeles]

Hi Crispy,

This is a female Meadow Brown with a Red Spider Mite (adult, and an arachnid!) in tow.

Cheers,

- Pete

[wildlifesnapper]

hi

it's aMeadow Brown with a tick/mite having a good feed.

neil

[thunder]

The red thing is almost certainly a mite. I think the butterfly is a Meadow Brown.

henrya

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by petereeles

Hi Crispy,

This is a female Meadow Brown with a Red Spider Mite (adult, and an arachnid!) in tow.

Cheers,

- Pete
www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

It is a mite of some description although not a red spider mite, red spider mites are not parasitic and are more of a problem to plants than animals.

[crispy]

Thanks for the response guys and clearing up butterfly id. Will try and do a little background reading into the types of mites that it could be (including red spider mite).

[James M]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

It is a mite of some description although not a red spider mite, red spider mites are not parasitic and are more of a problem to plants than animals.

Yes but I heard that Red Spider Mites sometimes use animals as a mode of transport?

[Tormentil]

Then that must be a No2 Meadow Brown.

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by James M

Yes but I heard that Red Spider Mites sometimes use animals as a mode of transport?

Red Spider Mites are really tiny- need a lens to see them properly (usually detect webbing of them on house plants in dry atmosphere)- these are some other type of mite.

[petereeles]

After a little research, I've concluded that the mites are Trombidium breei (can't find a common name, but Red Velvet Mite is in the same family).

Red Spider Mite is Tetranychus urticae.

Cheers,

- Pete