Are these predatory mites in my millipede enclosure?

I had a very healthy population of giant springtails in my millipede enclosure at work. When the heat went out at work, I took my pedes home, and for now, they are still at home in a temporary enclosure.

After the power outage, I noticed that my springtail population had decreased sharply in the enclosure. They are temperate springtails, so the temperature drop shouldn't have caused any issues. I thought perhaps the decrease in food, due to the millipedes not being present, may have contributed. But then I noticed these mites...which are not grain mites, all over the enclosure. They are much faster than grain mites, and a different shape. More pear-shaped. I have seen them in other vivaria of mine too. Whether it relates or not, I don't have problems with grain mites. there are some springtails left, but nowhere near the original population. I took a video, but it didn't come out great. I can try to post it if it would help.

Sounds like Mesoseiulus longipes or something similar

I've never seen them, would it be possible to post a picture of them? :0

Long legged, fast moving mites are generally predators. The fact that your springtail population is diminishing is another very big clue.

I am heartened by the replies so far. Thanks! Here is a short video clip...the best I could do with my phone...
[video]https://www.dropbox.com/s/uifj4d52m8axmum/Predatory%20mites.mp4?dl=0[/video]

Aquarimax said:

I took a video, but it didn't come out great. I can try to post it if it would help.

Click to expand...

Some time later, this cycle has occured again. I moved the millipedes to a new enclosure, and seeded it with springtails. The springtails reproduced well, then suddenly, the population decreased sharply, and I noticed all of these fast-moving mites everywhere. I have taken a MUCH BETTER VIDEO with my LED Microscope. Here it is:
[video=youtube_share;rRoDVUZ7ClQ]http://youtu.be/rRoDVUZ7ClQ[/video]

What do you think? Predatory mites?

I think I have those exact same things in some of my enclosures. They're about the size of a period and look a tannish color? I described them in detail to Peter and he thought they might be silver springtails. But, now that I've seen this and the pictures of that species I think it might be those. They look a little like springtails with the way they use the two front legs as feelers. Also, their not shiny like other mites I've seen and are easy to crush, again something that mites are generally resistant too. But, their body shape is less oblong and they seem to actively climb the walls of the enclosure, something I've never seen the pink springtails do. I have noticed that in the enclosures with the most of these, there are no pink springtails. They don't seem to be bothering the millipedes though. Still, unless they also eat waste and fungus like springtails, then they are definitely an unwelcome addition to the enclosure.

Aquarimax said:

Some time later, this cycle has occured again. I moved the millipedes to a new enclosure, and seeded it with springtails. The springtails reproduced well, then suddenly, the population decreased sharply, and I noticed all of these fast-moving mites everywhere. I have taken a MUCH BETTER VIDEO with my LED Microscope. Here it is:
[video=youtube_share;rRoDVUZ7ClQ]http://youtu.be/rRoDVUZ7ClQ[/video]

What do you think? Predatory mites?

Click to expand...

When I do a google search for Hypoapsis miles, I get images like these:



They look pretty similar.

Your attachments didn't work there, Aquarimax.

CrawlinChaos said:

Your attachments didn't work there, Aquarimax.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I think I fixed them now...

So, the good news is that from what I've read, Hypoapsis miles shouldn't pose any threat whatsoever to the millipedes. Additionally, they control fungus gnats, which is a problem I use to have, until apparently these guys moved in. The very bad news is that they do eat springtails, which explains why the springtails in the enclosures disappeared.

CrawlinChaos said:

So, the good news is that from what I've read, Hypoapsis miles shouldn't pose any threat whatsoever to the millipedes. Additionally, they control fungus gnats, which is a problem I use to have, until apparently these guys moved in. The very bad news is that they do eat springtails, which explains why the springtails in the enclosures disappeared.

Click to expand...

Thank you, good to know! I'll just have to keep them out of my other springtail-friendly enclosures. Maybe I can ventilate my millipede enclosure a little more freely now though...I was pretty careful to plug all ventilation holes with filter floss. Maybe that's no longer necessary if the mites will eat the fungus gnats.

So, last night I observed that whatever the things in my enclosures are, there are some definitely some springtails left in there. Its hard to say in those cases if their populations decreased or not, because they were seeded not that long ago and I've never seen them that dense. Still, its good to know that there are still *some* in there. The only thing that bugs me (ha) about whatever those little guys are is that they seem to respond to either light or fresh air, because when I take the lid off my enclosure, they seem to start coming out of the substrate and climbing up towards the top. And they can climb over vaseline as well. Its not a big deal, but it is a little annoying.

CrawlinChaos said:

So, last night I observed that whatever the things in my enclosures are, there are some definitely some springtails left in there.

Click to expand...

I have a similar situation in my millipede enclosure...there are a few springtails left in there, just nowhere near the original population. The funny thing is that I first noticed the predatory mites (if that is indeed what they are) in my gecko vivarium, where there is currently a robust population of springtails. I think there are still predatory mites in there too. It may be that the larger enclosure and more diverse environment (i.e. the drainage layer and deep, aerobic substrate) can support larger populations of springtails, so the mites don't wipe them out.

I have not noticed the predatory mites in any of my isopod enclosures, or (thank goodness) my springtail cultures. I have also noticed their tendency to climb...when I had a few of them in a petri dish to make the video I posted to this thread, I found a few on the table where I was filming. : )

Another good thing about predatory mites--they're supposed to really go after grain mites and parasitic mites, as well as other wee pests. I've heard of people buying them to control mites, fungus gnats, etc, for anything from houseplants to snakes to hermit crabs.