Velvet Mite

Soil, leaf litter, and vegetation in gardens, forests, and grasslands.

Adults are predators of small insects and soil-dwelling eggs. Larvae are parasites of other arthropods.

Usually emerge from the soil after rain; they go through a complex life cycle involving a parasitic larval stage and predatory nymph/adult stages.

Generally harmless to humans. They are beneficial to the ecosystem as they help control populations of other pest insects in the soil.