Red Velvet Mite

Soil, leaf litter, and occasionally on rocks or garden surfaces, especially after rain.

Adults are predators that eat small insects and insect eggs; larvae are often parasitic on other arthropods.

They are known for their bright red color and soft, velvety texture due to fine hairs. They emerge from the soil after heavy rains to hunt and mate.

Harmless to humans; they do not bite or sting. They are beneficial to the ecosystem as they control populations of other small pests.