Mystery Mite!

[Mike Ferro]

This little beast is amazing. From Pine twigs in Georgia. I'm guessing those are the pedipalps? 

Any idea what it is? 

Thanks, 

Mike

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Michael L. Ferro
Collection Manager, Clemson University Arthropod Collection (CUAC)
Dept. of Plant and Environmental Sciences
277 Poole Agricultural Center
Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634-0310

OFFICE: 307 Long Hall

spongym...@gmail.com (preferred)
mfe...@clemson.edu
Subject Editor: The Coleopterists Bulletin; Insecta Mundi

Natural History Literature Rescue GoodOldPaper.org

[Leblanc, Luc (leblancl@uidaho.edu)]

A Myrmeleontid mimic !

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From: Mike Ferro <spongym...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2025 8:03 AM
To: ECN-L <EC...@ecnweb.org>
Subject: [ECN-L] Mystery Mite!

 

This little beast is amazing. From Pine twigs in Georgia. I'm guessing those are the pedipalps?  Any idea what it is?  Thanks,  Mike -- Michael L. Ferro Collection Manager, Clemson University Arthropod Collection (CUAC) Dept. of Plant and

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[Michael Caterino]

Cunaxidae

See Skvarla (2014): https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.418.7629

[Hans Klompen]

Family Cunaxidae, and yes, those massive structures are modified palps.  

Hans

On Oct 28, 2025, at 11:03 AM, Mike Ferro <spongym...@gmail.com> wrote:

This little beast is amazing. From Pine twigs in Georgia. I'm guessing those are the pedipalps? 

Any idea what it is? 

Thanks, 

Mike

<Mite_JP1BFW_2Aug5Oct2024.jpg>

--

Michael L. Ferro
Collection Manager, Clemson University Arthropod Collection (CUAC)
Dept. of Plant and Environmental Sciences
277 Poole Agricultural Center
Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634-0310

OFFICE: 307 Long Hall

spongym...@gmail.com (preferred)
mfe...@clemson.edu
Subject Editor: The Coleopterists Bulletin; Insecta Mundi

Natural History Literature Rescue GoodOldPaper.org

[C.V.R.I.C]

Genus: Armascirus

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[Skvarla, Michael Joseph]

It's not often that I get to see a photo my former study group! As others have said, this is a cunaxid, either Armascirus or Dactyloscirus. The long palps are diagnostic for those genera. You'll need to slide mount the specimen and see if the seta on the palp basifemora is simple or spine-like to distinguish them. Michael Caterino linked our review paper already, but just to plug it again, it includes keys to world subfamilies, genera, and species. There have been some additional species described in the last ten years sicne it was published but none from the US, so the keys should still work. That said, of the 33 cunaxid morphotypes I found in Arkansas, only 5 were previously described and no one has collected cunaxids in the Southeast, so there's a good chance this is a new species. 

Best regards,

Michael

-----------------------------------------
Michael Skvarla, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Professor of Arthropod Identification
Department of Entomology
Penn State University

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From: C.V.R.I.C <ad...@cvric.com.au>
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2025 11:45 AM
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Subject: Re: [ECN-L] Mystery Mite!