Tag: bug ID

How To Take Good Up-Close Phone Photos of Bugs

So, I love identifying bugs1 for people online. It’s like solving tiny little mysteries. But often it’s hard for people to get a photo of the bug to begin with, because it’s just so small or fast-moving and all they have is a phone. This post isn’t about getting into phone macro photography; this is a quick guide for taking a basic photo that’s good enough for ID. Continue reading How To Take Good Up-Close Phone Photos of Bugs

Know Your Little Red Mites: A Guide

Infographic with illustrations and descriptions of four common red-coloured mites
The infographic version. Click for a full-sized image.

To the casual observer, many mites are just mysterious little red dots. Gardeners and farmers will be familiar with the spider mite family, Tetranychidae. These mites are plant-eaters, and many are major agricultural pests worldwide.

But there are so many other kinds of mites—more than you know. More than I know! More than even acarologists (mite scientists) know. They have described about 50,000 species, but they think there are probably at least a million in total.1 If you take a closer look at the little red dots running around, you can find many different kinds, occupying many different ecological niches, all unique and delightful to watch. Continue reading Know Your Little Red Mites: A Guide