Bug identity.

Does anyone know what this bug is, it lives in my soil and doesnt appear to have damaged my plant or its roots.

its been there since my plants were young.

how do i exterminate them too.

thanks and regards.

Looks like a magnified spidermite but if its just a spider then I would leave it be.. I am scared shitless of spiders but their good to have in your room, they will eat the other insects that feed on your plants.. Plus you can't blame em for wanting to live in there, wouldn't you? lol

p.s. don't really see any spidermite damage on your lovely ladies so i'm guessing it's just a spider

the photo was taken with a hd camera with a 30x jewellers loupe in front of the lense, the bug is very tiny about 3 to 5 milimetres in length i can only see them against the soil when disturbed.
theyre white and light sensitive and seem to die when exposed to light for to long, there antenna shake like mad then they curl up and die. im miffed as to what they are ive googled till my eyes went googley and cant find pics or info on these bugs.

thanks for the reply.

Im pretty sure it aint a spider as it has antenna and 3 legs either side.

i said its 3 to 5 mm but it aint its 1 to 2 mm long.

its not a bug ive seen b4 and someone must be able to id it or have had these in their soil, it hasnt ate my plant yet and i would like to know what it is and if i should destroy them, anyone ?

thanks in advance.

I can identify any North American insect to species but I'll need microscopic photo's. I have to be able to see how many segments make up the antenae, how the legs join up to the body, different angles and so on. Unless you find someone that has direct experience with this insect you may never find out exactly what it is. The photo shows 6 legs but I'm thinking there may be an extra set that are difficult to see. If you can find out if it truly has 6 legs then it is an insect(bug), if it has 8 then it's a arachnid( probably a soil mite).

I was thinking eight legs. Are there mites that live in soil? Didn't know that. So they feed on what? Organic matter?

There are soil mites, there's mites in almost everything ranging from dust to keyboards.

Soil mites feed on bacterial colonies, detritus, some feed on the soil itself, some are herbivores and some carnivores. Not all are bad and some are even beneficial.

Insects outnumber people, plants and animals put together by a factor of 1000 to 1 with species diversity happening within a colony at a high rate.

Well i posted this pic on a houseplant forum and apparantly they are hypoaspis miles or something close to this name and they are beneficial to the soil and eat gnat larvae thrip larvae and eggs, that is good to hear.

thanks again.