Guess what I saw at work today?

[Mr. Mordax]

Anyone want to take a stab?
http://oregonstate.edu/~reitmajm/Arthropods%20and%20Other%20Creatures/Cropped.jpg

Here's the whole thing, if that helps.
http://oregonstate.edu/~reitmajm/Arthropods%20and%20Other%20Creatures/Scaled.jpg

Have fun guessing! :D

[Widowman10]

i don't know, but it looks kinda gross... :D

[ChrisNCT]

A nematode pod from another planet?

[tin man]

it looks like really sick soggy rice, thats what I first thought of

[aracnochicken]

Kinda looks like something dead and maggots are eating it . If I'm right do i win anything ?!?!?!?!?!?!;P

[SuperRad]

I'm gonna take a stab and say it's some kinda termite colony.

[Pulk]

a bunch of molts from an eggsac?

[Mr. Mordax]

I'll give you guys a hint. Photo number 1 is about 3-4 millimeters across, and this is the "True Spiders and Other Arachnids" forum.

This is fun! :D

[josh_cloud]

baby spiders chewing their way out of an eggsac?:?

[funnylori]

Okay, I know what it is, but only because I'm paid to know...

Tiny hint, they live in a grape vine bud.

[buthus]

:? ... Calepitrimerus vitis or Colomerus vitis? ..that could be bad for those who keep them in the hobby! :D :D :D

[cacoseraph]

scale bugs, wooly white fly larva, or those ones that make goop?

[Mr. Mordax]

Calepitrimerus vitis or Colomerus vitis

DINGDINGDING!!! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

:D

I think Lori's hint gave it away. We usually only find the first of those two, but we've come across a couple vineyards that have the other. It wasn't reported in Oregon or Washington until a couple of years ago.

For those who don't know, it's the vine bud mite, a sneaky little bastard that invests the leaves of grape vines. This is where they hide out in the winter. The other name buthus gave is the vine rust mite, which is shaped a little differently.

[UrbanJungles]

I'm assuming those are larvae?

[funnylori]

They are adults. They are cute but nasty little bud mites.

[Mr. Mordax]

Mites in the family Eriophyidae (after which we named our "little pest" of a cat) are weird for mites in that they are worm-like in appearance and have only four legs. They're also really tiny for mites -- they top out at around 100 microns in length, which is smaller than some cells. They're about a quarter the size of a dust mite and a tad narrower than a human hair.

Interestingly enough, I found two grape shoots yesterday where every bud was almost as bad as the one photographed, but over the whole summer we only found a handful in the leaves. Onward to more research! :D

And Lori's right, they are kinda cute . . . too bad I can't get pet ones that are about two inches long or so (but at that size they might be just plain gross).

[buthus]

DINGDINGDING!!! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

:D

I think Lori's hint gave it away. We usually only find the first of those two, but we've come across a couple vineyards that have the other. It wasn't reported in Oregon or Washington until a couple of years ago.

For those who don't know, it's the vine bud mite, a sneaky little bastard that invests the leaves of grape vines. This is where they hide out in the winter. The other name buthus gave is the vine rust mite, which is shaped a little differently.
Yep ..enough hints to make my first google search criteria: "grape bud mites".
4 legs though? hmm... that would have thrown me 4 a loop if I was to run across them. :?

[cacoseraph]

i think, by far, mites are the broadest and weirdest group of arachnids

these little fellows kind of seal the deal for me