Mites in a springtail colony?

[Arthropod Hunter]

Hello guys , my springtail colony has rove beetles (which are fine to me) , but there are mites they are light red in color and are as small as grain mites , they are parasitic i think, How do i get rid of these mites without killing the rove beetle and springtails?

[Ash]

I am afraid once you have mites the culture is done for. A culture should be destroyed the moment mites are spotted, the springtails will be done for anyway in short time. I keep massive amounts of many varieties of Springtails so I have never done this, but you could separate out a few springtails from your culture making sure no mites come along for a ride with a magnifying glass if necessary. Also follow proper husbandry keeping your springtails away from other insects and cultures and feeding springs before touching anything else.

[poison]

Ash, how do these mites kill of the colonies?

[DigitalPunk]

I got mites once in my spring culture and eventually the springs out battled the mites for food and the mites all died off. I don't think mites means you should toss the culture at all. Definitely separate it from other cultures.

[Ash]

I do not know the specific mites that are infesting however most mites seen tend to be grain mites, they will out compete springtails for food . It is thought they may eat eggs although I have not been able to observe this. Not every mite will do this, some mites will co-exist with springtails I however do not take chances since I offer springtails to the public. I have several varieties of isopods that I have observed eating mites "Greys and Striped" if I recall. I do not have the knowledge if they would continue to clean an infected culture however or if these were exceptions So one may experiment by dumping springtail culture into isopods bin and observing.

The springtails that seem to be most prone to mite infections have been ones that are fed grains or bakers yeast and of course foods that harbor mites at a high rate like dog food, fish food or mushrooms.. So avoid grains if you have this problem.

Springtails can be flooded to cause the springtails to float to the surface for easier removal and restarting an culture from one that was infected.

[Arthropod Hunter]

i think the mites are clover mites , they seem to be parasitic because when i dropped a dubia nymph in the bin , it was killed , and saw those mites sticking onto the joints of the nymph. btw i have isopods in my springtails as well as rove beetles

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[Ash]

were you able to save any springtails and restart colony by flooding the culture?

[Arthropod Hunter]

were you able to save any springtails and restart colony by flooding the culture?

They died and vanished. im restarting the colony now.