Hitchhiking Mites

I posted a buff-tailed bumble bee last month so didn't intend to feature one again until I spotted tiny mites amongst its fur. I felt sad, thinking that these could be something similar to the parasitic Varroa mites which attack and feed on honey bees. I was relieved to discover that the mites on my bee are completely harmless. They are detritivores that live in bumblebee nests, eating old wax and general bee generated rubbish; when the nests are abandoned over winter this causes a problem for the mites, so they hitch a ride on queen bumblebees to get to the next active nest. A mite can be seen on the upper part of the bee's front leg and the abdomens of others in its fur above that leg.