Hypoaspis Mites (Question)

ragnew

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Messages
525
Hey guys,

I've got a Sc. subspinipes subspinipes that's had a slight mite problem for a little while, and decided that I'd go ahead and order a batch of the Hypoaspis mites to help me get rid of the unwanted critters, and I went ahead and added some to my other cages to act as a preventative measure.

Here's my question though. I watched a few videos on youtube that had a few clips of pedes with hypoaspis mites running about eating the pest mites. The video actually showed the mites very, very good. They were a lot bigger then I was thinking. Now, I've had my Hypos since yesterday and have yet to see a single one.

I was thinking about emailing Biocontrol and asking them about it, but thought I'd ask here first. Should I be worried, and does it sound like they arrived dead?

Thanks much guys.
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
8,982
I think I saw that vid too here on the AB. I think those hypos were on a very small pede so it made them look bigger than they really are. But you should be able to see them if you have decent eyesight. I ordered hypos from Biocontrol a while back too. All I could see were the smaller, white, feeder grain mites. I sent the container back and asked them if they could find any hypos in the mix. It's a "no refund" policy. They said they saw "signs" of the mites and implied they died while I had them. But they did send my money back for the cost of the mites, not shipping though and that was kind of pricey. You may have hypos in there, that's just what happened to me. Maybe there are a bunch of hypo eggs and babies in there. I may have gotten a little paranoid since I couldn't see any.
 

ragnew

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Messages
525
Thanks for the info Gala. It's crazy man, so far I can't see anything that resembles a mite at all, no hypos nor grain mites. My eyes aren't too bad, so I was thinking I'd be able to see them. But who knows. I went ahead and sent Biocontrol and email asking what they thought, so maybe there's eggs in the culture that are waiting to hatch like you said.

I guess we'll see eh man?
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
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Jul 4, 2005
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8,982
Yeah ha, placebo hypos aren't going to work. They're small enough that the seller can argue about it and then you're just going on faith. If you want to see if you can attract mites in the mix, you can smash a cricket leg or something like it and put it on the mix. Check it in about an hour or so or even sooner. I had a bunch of small white grain mites show up on the cricket leg but I never saw any hypos in the mix I had.
 

ragnew

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Messages
525
Yeah ha, placebo hypos aren't going to work. They're small enough that the seller can argue about it and then you're just going on faith. If you want to see if you can attract mites in the mix, you can smash a cricket leg or something like it and put it on the mix. Check it in about an hour or so or even sooner. I had a bunch of small white grain mites show up on the cricket leg but I never saw any hypos in the mix I had.
I did just that, and guess how many mites I found? Ready for this, good, here goes... And the number is..... ZERO! Yeps, zippo, ziltch and nada would have to be that number.

Man, this sucks. I hope they're there, but I'm starting to think otherwise.
 

Drachenjager

Arachnoemperor
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Jan 23, 2006
Messages
3,509
substrate change wit a dry substrate and a water dish for a while will get rid of them.
 

ragnew

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Messages
525
substrate change wit a dry substrate and a water dish for a while will get rid of them.
I actually tried that before ordering the Hypoaspis Mites. Even without wet substrate them little buggers didn't budge (had it in a paper towel with water bowl setup for about 2 weeks).

My pede started looking extremely unhappy so I caved in and put it back on it's "normal" sub.

And Gala, you were right, according to BioC the Hypoaspis are shipped as eggs and nymphs. So hopefully they're still around. Though I now doubt it quite hardily.
 
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