I photographed this male Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) on Tuesday at Occoquan Regional Park. As I was working on the image, I noted that the dragonfly had an infestation of what look to be red water mites on at least two of its wings. You may need to click on the images to zoom in and you should be able to see some small red spherical objects that I am pretty sure are water mites.
According to Wikipedia, these water mites, likely from the genus Arrenurus, “establish an association for the purpose of transportation and nutrients, and attach to the host during the host’s transition from larva to adult.” Although these mites do not kill the dragonfly hosts, studies “show that parasitism by the mites affect the host’s longevity and fecundity by draining its tissue fluids, hampering copulation and interfering with sperm transfer.” Yikes!
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
The mites are vile.
I completely agree!!
horrible 😦
Nature can be cruel at times, but is all part of the “circle of life.”
Poor widow skimmer. Thanks for sharing the info.