Watch out for mites

[Wood~Ant]

I feed all my ants with crickets and small locusts which have been kept in our freezer, then defrosted. I have just removed the uneaten body of a locust from my Camponotus singularis foraging arena and found it covered with dozens of white mites. This could be because Jenny fed them a freshly killed fly from our garden not long ago, so the mites may have come in on the fly, as I am not sure if they could survive being frozen for weeks?
How these mites got into the set up is a mystery, and the ants and brood are clear of mites; but I shall be keeping a very watch for mites on their food in future.

[Welsh Ant]

You might find the mites in the nest, on any dead food scraps if the interior is very damp or wet? 

[Wood~Ant]

May 29, 2016 10:56:49 GMT Welsh Ant said:

You might find the mites in the nest, on any dead food scraps if the interior is very damp or wet? 

Yes there are mites in the nest, but so far only on dead decaying insects and not affecting the colony.

[Wood~Ant]

I have found the same white mites in the midden of my C. habereri nest, but these mites don't seem to affect brood or adult ants and just eat rotting insect carcasses. Excess moisture cause putrefaction and these mites seem to behave like tiny cleaners.