The question that I sought to answer was “In what ways are insects adapted to their environment?” This question was inspired by my animal behavior class, where we often discuss how an animal has evolved to survive, understanding its anatomy and physiology. In order to do this, I collected a few samples; I first had to find and collect a living insect and then I collected bark, leaves (both living and dead) and flowers, to understand its environment. I ended up collecting a clover mite, which I found out is not an insect! It is actually an arachnid with 8 legs instead of 6. With careful observation, I studied the (rather disturbing) anatomy of the clover mite. I asked about how it moves, senses the world, and eats. As you can see in the picture I uploaded, the clover mite is a bright red animal – likely to scare away predators as bright colors are associated with poison – and has 8 legs that help it move around. As for sensing the world around it, I would guess that the microscopic hairs along its body help it touch and understand its surroundings. I also saw what I think was two very small black eyes, but I could not get a clear visual. Lastly, it looks as though the two sharp pincers allow it to easily tear plants open and eat/drink nutrients. Analyzing the different plant samples, it can be concluded that the mite can only feed from flowers or leaves, as those are easily ruptured open and consumed; the bark seems too compact and hard for it, however it does still walk around and interact with all forms of plants. Ultimately, this clover mite seems very well adjusted for its environment as expected, and it was very interesting and slightly scary to see it at such a close magnification. P.S. I feel like bugs are crawling all over me…still a cool experiment though!