found a very small beetle carrying a relatively large mite like a balloon. wish my camera was more powerful to really capture it. (and thanks to @bowelfly i now know these cute mites on stalks are in the family Uropodidae)
wow I never saw a mite attached by a stalk like that, I can’t tell which end is the front!
most likely a non-parasitic mite that uses these beetles for transportation, which is super common