Harvestman with Mites

[Farplace]

No picture unfortunately, as my camera is dead, but yesterday i saw 3 harvestman spiders with a heavy mite burden. One was so bad that you could hardly see the harvestman under the bright red mites. The other 2 not as bad, but with the same red mites on them. Is this common?

[Jason Green]

Morning Janet,

Yes, quite common in general terms - though I haven't seen many infected Opiliones, more commonly bees and certain beetles. They usually just hitch rides rather than parasitically-target individuals.

In low number they are usually OK, but as they pick-up and subsequently gain in weight then cover wing-bases, spiracles and sexual parts they can become a serious problem.

Take care,

Jason