[log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> In a message dated 00-05-09 00:05:55 EDT, you write:
>
> << With the naked eye nothing was
>  > visible, but with a 30x
>  > microscope, he was able to see 8-legged light-colored "cooties" on my
>  > eyelashes.
>  >>
>
> I recall from a medical-veterinary entomology course in grad school 15 years
> ago that most (or all) humans harbor a mite that lives in the follicles of
> our eyelashes.  It's apparently harmless, so we didn't spend much time on it.
>  Maybe that's your cootie?


Hi,

The mite Demodex follicularum lives in human hair follicles, but is too
small to be likely to be noticed. The insect Phthirus pubis is quite
commonly found on eyelashes where it causes itching and irritation.
Neither is associated with bees though.

I have an apiary where sheep ticks are an annoying problem unless I keep
my trousers tucked into my boots.


James Morton