In this episode, Bill and Steve dive into a tiny, bustling world - a world that’s hiding on the feathers of the birds we see every day. Joined by Dr. Alix Matthews, postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University at Buffalo, she reveals the strange lives of feather mites — how these barely-visible hitchhikers feed and get around and whether or not they’re helping or hurting their avian hosts.
This episode was recorded on September 4, 2025 at Walton Woods in Amherst, NY.
Episode Notes and Links
During the episode, Steve wondered how many mite species live on humans. Bill did some digging and found that for obligate, human-resident mites, the best supported count is three species/taxa (the two Demodex sps. and the scabies mite specialized to humans). PMC+2PMC+2
Taking a broader look at species that are associated with humans (but aren’t obligate residents on us), the number goes up to roughly dozens of species. According to medical and public-health literature, they visit or bite humans but don’t persist on us. PMC+1
Also - Bill messed up! When they found those fuzzy, white insects, Bill said he thought they were Beech Scale insects. Luckily, our friend Jason Dombroskie from the Cornell Insect Lab took the time to email us: “…the reason I am emailing is for a “well actually” correction. In it you mention seeing Beech Scale - the causal agent of Beech Bark Disease which is true, but from your description of them moving it sounds like you were actually looking at Beech Blight Aphid (Grylloprociphilus imbricator). Compare https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/54061-Cryptococcus-fagisuga and https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/146709-Grylloprociphilus-imbricator and let me know what you think.” The insects the guys saw were definitely the ones in the second link.
Check out Dr. Matthews’s website and research here.
And watch a presentation on mites she did for Audubon Arkansas in October 2025.
Sponsors and Ways to Support Us
Gumleaf Boots, USA (free shipping for patrons)
Thank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our episodes.
Support us on Patreon.
Check out the Field Guides merch at our Teespring store. It’s really a great deal: you get to pay us to turn your body into a billboard for the podcast!
Photo Credit
Dr. Alix Matthews - https://matthewsalix.weebly.com/feather-mites.html