On the trail of the red velvety mite
...and one on its way home
A bug in hand... 
When I was young, I remember seeing plenty of these precious little creatures in my hometown in Rajasthan. They could be spotted in fairly shrubby, wilderness growth like areas, and were found to emerge especially during the rainy season. I even got a few home once and put them in a big brass vessel filled with moist mud. Sadly they did not survive for many days. I don't know what they are called, but 'red velvety mites' were what my dad used to call them. That name has stuck.
The bug does look quite scary! It must have been quite daring to have it on your hand :-)
Posted by
Suyog |
October 03, 2005 10:13 PM
You really can't imagine how soft and timid they are. The moment they sense any harmful stimuli, the curl their legs in, and become a fluffy velvet ball.
Posted by
The elderly camel |
October 04, 2005 7:30 AM
yup me too remember them.. the first hour at school used to be sports and during rainy season we used to collect these bugs and put in our shirt pockets and during classes these used to crawl on our shirts slowly freaking out our teachers.
Posted by
scorpigle |
October 04, 2005 8:15 AM
Hey where did you find these guys? I have been looking all over. As a kid I found quite a few on a visit to Maharashtra. We would put them in matchboxes with grass, they would survive.Then I released them. They are the cutest bugs after Lady Bugs.
Posted by
silverine |
October 15, 2005 7:09 AM