While I was busy taking photos of the mason bees coming to the crocuses yesterday, I happened to notice that one was carrying around some extra baggage. I’ve seen insects with mites before, of course, but they’re always small and round. And I knew that there are some invertebrates like pseudoscorpions that can hitch rides on bugs or beetles, often hiding under the wing covers. But this didn’t look like one of those, either. It remained close to the bee’s shoulder, even when the bee took off and returned a few times. So what was it?