Dear Colleagues,
recently together with some colleagues I started to study pollinia of some South American tropical orchid species (mainly Restrepia and Lepanthes). During this work I found some small mites inside blooming flowers of Restrepia. In some cases I found that mites probably feed on pollinia.
Till now I collected only a few mites (from two orchid species - Restrepia contorta and R. purpurea) but probably some more can be expected in soon future.
Unfortunately, I can not provide additional details which mite group it is, but I can send some pictures if anyone is interested in (it is also possible to take some SEM photos).
If anyone would be interested in studying such material, please send me an email.
Best greetings,
Radomir