# White mites on my Scolopendra



## Draiman (May 22, 2008)

I just discovered tiny (0.5mm or smaller) white-coloured mites on my 5" _Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans_. These look similar to the ones my late tarantula (_Phlogiellus inermis_) had. It's impossible to get pics without a DSLR with a macro lens because these mites are so minute, and I don't have a DSLR. So what are the most common mites found on centipedes? Also, are these mites harmful?

Thanks in advance.


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## arrowhd (May 22, 2008)

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=112084

Here's a link to the thread I started concerning a mite problem.  I've tried everything short of the "drowning" method.  I don't have nearly as many mites as I did, but still have some.  Very frustrating. Good luck.


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## Elytra and Antenna (May 22, 2008)

This is one of those threads where I should just copy a big long explanation to keep it ready for pasting. 
Grain mites are common everywhere but are especially common with feeder crickets. They eat almost any cereal, fruit and even dead arthropods. When too many crickets are fed you end up with a lot of wasted dead animal that leads to a mite population explosion. When they begin to run out of food or are too crowded many enter a hypopus stage that stick to large inverts (travel methodology). At this point they can cause breathing issues as they also partly cover the spiracles and the rancid environment also harms the pedes. Solution based on the above understanding:
Replace substrate, many or most of them are still in the dirt.
Don't overfeed, 'clean up crews' can help but don't clean up major overfeeding. It's very easy to overfeed a centipede.
Drying out the mites is a great idea if they're not on a centipede (assuming you don't want a sickly or dead centipede). 
No matter how you attempt to remove the mites if you don't address the problem they'll keep coming back. They will eventually go away without overfeeding but can always come back.


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## Galapoheros (May 22, 2008)

Those diddlys!  I've been wondering if the clogging a breathing thing is esp an issue with plings since they are smaller and so it might take less to clog a smaller spiracle.  On bigger S. h. heros pedes, through the top of a tergite, it's easy to see the tracheal tubes leaving the spiracle.  When I used to get mites real bad, before I knew what they were, I noticed the tracheal tubes would become more and more visible, almost looked swollen.  The pedes would die as if suffocating.  You can't drown the mites but I've knocked out several pedes by dropping them in water for about 20 minutes.  I would take them out and scrape off mites I could see but always some left so you have to keep it clean like E&A said.  It feels good that I can get rid of them now, or at least "under control".  I lost so many pedes years ago.


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## bistrobob85 (May 23, 2008)

Galapoheros said:


> Those diddlys!  I've been wondering if the clogging a breathing thing is esp an issue with plings since they are smaller and so it might take less to clog a smaller spiracle.  On bigger S. h. heros pedes, through the top of a tergite, it's easy to see the tracheal tubes leaving the spiracle.  When I used to get mites real bad, before I knew what they were, I noticed the tracheal tubes would become more and more visible, almost looked swollen.  The pedes would die as if suffocating.  You can't drown the mites but I've knocked out several pedes by dropping them in water for about 20 minutes.  I would take them out and scrape off mites I could see but always some left so you have to keep it clean like E&A said.  It feels good that I can get rid of them now, or at least "under control".  I lost so many pedes years ago.


I lost a lot of pedes to those mites too... i ended up freezing everything that had the tiniest sign of mites on it, which was a very hard moment for me... 

Thanks for the explanation, Elytra and Antennas, it was very constructive. 

 phil.


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## JohnEDove (May 23, 2008)

Not sure how it would work with a Scolopendra but when my nephew had them on his Gromphadorhina portentosa we put them in flour and shook gently. It removed the mites 100% and the problem never came back with better husbandry practices on his part.


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## Matt K (May 24, 2008)

The mites on the G. portentosa are a different type of mite.


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