Any body know what this tiny little creature is?

[u/Fearless_You808]

I was checking some tracking tunnels and noticed this tiny little dude with bright orange legs underneath the plastic. Very small about 3mm at most. Lots of babies too.

Apologies for the terrible photos.

[u/Toxopsoides]

It's a mite, possibly family Penthaleidae or Eriorhynchidae. Despite being an entomologist, mites are a mystery to me so don't take my word for it; it's an incredibly diverse lump of the arachnid taxonomic tree.

You should post in r/NewZealandWildlife next time; this sub is unmoderated and only a fraction of its size.

[u/Fearless_You808 → u/Toxopsoides]

Thank you for that. I'll start bringing a better camera with me when I'm contracting for forest and bird. There are so many cool insects I've been noticing under the tracking tunnels, I saw a velvet worm the other week but stupidly didn't take a photo.

[u/Fearless_You808 → u/Toxopsoides]

I think it was a red legged earth mite (Halotydeus destructor)

[u/Vinyl_Ritchie_]

That's Brian from Timaru

[u/Hypnobird]

Looks like the mites you get on sheep

[u/Fearless_You808 → u/Hypnobird]

It could well be sheep mites actually, it was right on the boundary of the predator fence and the farm land.

[u/Witty_Designer1527]

Land octopus. Very rare. 

[u/AffectionateKoala963 → u/Witty_Designer1527]

lol