Red Growths on Gatekeeper butterfly

[PeterD]

Saw this butterfly today at Portchester Common. See the red growths on the body. These are visible on both sides of the wing.





Any ideas?

Cheers

PeterD

[Mr Mag00]

these are parasitic red mites Trombidium breei, attached to the thorax.

[cat72uk]

[polygro]

I understand that these parasitic mites suck blood from the butterfly but are not harmful to it if there are only small numbers of them (as in your photo). In wet summers, when butterflies shelter in the undergrowth more often, the mite infestations tend to be worse and may kill the butterfly.

Polly

[djackso]

I guess they are similar to the mites seen on this harvestman:



YUK

[PeterD]

Well, thanks for all that info - just a bit distracted now in searching for mites on my legs:

Phew None found.

Cheers

Peter

[Pudding4brains]

Howdy,

Here's a close-up of one on a Harvestman:

Originally Posted by Mr Mag00

these are parasitic red mites Trombidium breei, attached to the thorax.

How sure are you of the actual species and why? Meaning: What literature did you find on these? I would very much like to read up a little more, but find all sorts of contradictory 'info' on the internet

Arp

[PeterD]

For those interested in these parasites on butterflies, see the following links:-

IngentaConnect Parasitism by the mite Trombidium breei on four U.K. butterfly sp...

and

learnaboutbutterflies

It seems that infestation is common.

The latter link describes the survival issues of butterflies throughout their lifecycle. I found this aspect also of great interest. It shows why protecting them is so important.

Peter

[Pudding4brains]

Cheers for the links Peter

P.S. Ahw yes, something I forgot to mention before: The critters are supposedly larvae of the mites mentioned, not the adult mites - just for correctness sake