Bananas for Scale
Dust Mite

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Dust Mite

The invisible roommate living in your pillow by the millions/Microscopic Life

Dust mites are 0.3 mm arachnids that feed on dead skin flakes, and your mattress is an all-you-can-eat buffet. An average bed contains roughly 2 million of them. They don't bite or burrow, but their fecal pellets are one of the most common allergen triggers worldwide. Each mite produces about 20 droppings per day.

Measurements

Body length300 millionths m
200 millionthsBathtub lengths
9.4 thousandthsSD card lengths
3.5 thousandthsCredit card lengths

About 0.3 mm

Body mass5.7 billionths kg
190 trillionthsGolden retrievers
63.3 trillionthsHome safes
127 trillionthsGrocery carts

About 5.7 micrograms

Fecal pellet diameter20 millionths m
2.5 thousandthsLadybugs
833 sextillionthsVoyager 1 distances
909 millionthsAlmond lengths

About 20 micrometers

Lifespan5.2 million s
20.7 quadrillionProcessor cycles
5.4 tenthsSchool semesters
5.2 billionCamera flash durations

About 60-90 days

Preferred temperature298 K
9.7 tenthsChocolate melting points
8.8 tenthsSun-baked car interiors
1.53Dry ice surfaces

About 25 C

Walking speed1 thousandths m/s
95.8 millionthsUsain Bolts
33.6 billionthsEarth orbit speeds
2 thousandthsShopping carts

About 1 mm per second

Browse more in Microscopic Life