Adkins Mystery Monday: What Groundcover is Starting to Pop Some Color into Our Gardens?

Last week, we asked you about true velvet mites (Family Trombidiidae)! These little, bright red arachnids are often found crawling around the forest floor. In their larval stage, they may act as parasites preying on other insect or arachnid hosts (some of which can be problematic pests for us!). True velvet mites play an important role in the ecosystem, keeping balance in the forest floor. They may be small, but they are mite-y! For those of you feeling the creepy crawlies, don’t worry, they don’t bite or try to parasitize people (or other vertebrates). #mysterymonday #adkinsarboretum #smallbutmitey #velvetmite #ecosystembalance #mysteryplant #winterinterest #carolinecounty

Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go here.