tick? spider? ???
Posted by Audra fairbanks on July 1, 2006
Q: My daughter asked if I wanted to see a really cool spider she caught and put in her bug box.. It looked like a tick to me but that I have never seen one that color and am having no luck finding a picture of what it was on the internet. A bright red color aompletely uniform all over. Very active, eight legs, would fit easily on a pencil erasure, a roundish body with a slight indent in middle of back... What is it?
Habitat: suburban/yard
State: Vermont
Habitat: suburban/yard
A: You're thinking in the right "ballpark" but from your description, I'd say your daughter found a mite, not a spider nor a tick. Mites are closely related to ticks and spiders (all have eight legs) so you were close. There are many, many different kinds of mites and Red Spider Mites (not spiders at all) are frequently seen on the ground in wooded areas. Some of these animals are real pests to plants but don't harm people. You might want to google "mites" and see what you get. Hope this helps you out. Thanks for writing.
John Wiessinger ( July 1, 2006)