Stats

Lifespan

1-2 years

Size

Small

Diet

Insectivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

Worldwide

Movement

Walking

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Warning Colors

Status

Common

About

True velvet mites are bright red arachnids that live in damp forest soil. Larvae latch onto insects to feed on their fluids before dropping off to live as predators.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg sac

   A silk-wrapped egg sac shelters a clutch of eggs until the young are ready to emerge.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   A spiderling emerges from the egg sac already in miniature adult form and starts catching prey almost immediately.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult arachnid molts through several instars, growing larger and developing mature markings.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown after its final molt.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Arachnida

Order

Trombidiformes

Family

Trombidiidae