hairy tiny things

[RCerruti]

Hi,

I'm not fastidious at all, but when my wife noticed those little things walking on my nightstand, well, I didn't like it. At least I would like to know what these are. Anyone knows? Sorry for the bad quality of the image, but I'm not equipped for microfotography. The thing are maybe 0,2 to 0,4 mm long (should I say 1/128 to 1/64 of an inch?).
It seems they appeared after borrowing a book from a local library, but maybe it's not related.
They move around rather slowly, don't care for light (don't flee and don't go towards) and seem to exist only on my and my wife's nightstand.
I'm in northern Italy, so they are not British at all.

Thanks to anyone willing to help!

[jaguarondi]

Some sort of mite

[RCerruti]

Hi, thank you, I really thought they were some mites, but the real question is, where did they come from? and why now? Do they came from (and will eat) books? or something else?

Roberto

[jaguarondi]

I'm not a mite expert so don't want to alarm you unncecssarily, but Glycyphagus domesticus looks a possibility. It has various names (dust mite, furniture mite, house itch mite). The pictures of it look similar to yours.

I doubt whether anyone would be able to ID your mite from a photo and I've seen mites in the wild that look similar too. So, if you are alarmed, you would need to get it checked out by an expert (attached to a public health department?)

[tcvarlh]

I would say get in an expert too.

Here's something to look at while you wait : Mites

h

[JRsbugs]

I had some very similar mites last autumn, I discovered maybe 3 or 4 had been feeding on a very small wasp which had died and stuck to the top of the window frame in a bedroom upstairs.

The wasp was so small as not to be easily seen. I haven't a clue where the mites came from, they were more creamy coloured than yours but other than that look much the same. After cleaning the windows I haven't seen any more, it would seem they are detritous feeders on dead animals. As a precaution I steam cleaned the mattress! I now have a new bed.

As you have found these on your nightstand, do you have a lamp there?
Maybe there's small dead insects attracted to a light. It was at the end of October last year when I found mine, it was a mild and humid autumn. It seems they like humid conditions. I also found a single mite downstairs on the table, amongst the plants I had brought inside, never found another there.

Janet

[RCerruti]

Thanks to you all

Glycyphagus domesticus is quite similar to the ones I have, but I read somewhere Glycyphagus domesticus should flee from light, while mine don't.
Moreover I don't keep usually food on the nightstand and haven't seen /yet) in the kitchen. On Sunday I will try to:
- feed them some sugar to see how they react
- take better pictures
- heat up the room to 25 C° as somewhere I read it could kill some species (drying it up as well - it's quite humid)

I have a lamp on the nightstand but it's a very 'clean' design, with (almost) no places where dead animals could be hidden, the light bulb is completely in the open air.

Roberto

[RCerruti]

By now I'm more curious than worried, and we don't have any itch or bites or stings.

We have some humidity forming through the wall behind the nigthstands, and some mildew / fungus formed on the wall. Still waiting for the insurance company to pay for a damage elsewhere and then have alll the house repainted.

But the mildew / fungus on the wall have been there for years, the little things we discovered only few days ago.

Roberto

[JRsbugs]

Look at the pics of Mould mite (Tyrophagus putrescentiae)

Stages of Development | PaDIL Plant Biosecurity Toolbox

Egg: Optimum development temperature for both eggs and immature mites occurs at 32.2oC and 98% RH when eggs develop fully in about 80 hours. At 11oC, eggs average 608 hours to complete development (Barker 1967).

Dispersal

In movement of contaminated foodstuffs, plant and animal material to new locations; on the bodies of birds or animals that have used mite-infested nests.

The link came from here:

Pet Snail & Slug Problems [Pet Snails] - Mites

[JRsbugs]

Some articles.. it's used as an allergen! Or should that be anti-allergen, it all seems to be about the IgE antibodies, I guess it's used the same as a vaccine where like is treated with like.

Tyrophagus putrescentiae: an allergenically important mite - GREEN - 2006 - Clinical & Experimental Allergy - Wiley Online Library

Prevalence of Tyrophagus putrescentiae hypersensit... [Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2010] - PubMed result

Immunoglobulin E Reactivity of Recombinant Allergen Tyr p 13 from Tyrophagus putrescentiae Homologous to Fatty Acid Binding Protein -- Jeong et al. 12 (5): 581 -- Clinical and Vaccine Immunology