A bodybuilder in red velvet

If you are out and about on a spring day, when the sun is heating up the ground, you might see something that looks like a tiny, bright-red woodland strawberry out for a walk. On closer inspection, the strawberry has eight legs. It is a red velvet mite – a very appropriate name as if you look at it very closely, you’ll see it looks like a bodybuilder dressed in a tight, red velvet bathrobe. In the world of mites, red is a warning colour, to remind any hungry predators that mites are forbidden fruits. They taste terrible and are probably also a bit poisonous.

At around 5 mm in length, the red velvet mite is one of Denmark’s largest mites. It is also a distant relative of the tick, which is one of Denmark’s most feared mite. The red velvet mite, however, is not interested in blood. In its adult form, it is a predator, which feeds on small animals that are smaller than itself.

Red velvet mites live in the soil, mainly in forests, and are also found in gardens and other places. It can be fun to sit down in some different places on a spring day  and count how many red velvet mites you see – for example within one hour. Then you’ll have some idea about where the mites prefer to live in the local area.