This water mite caught my eye when it swam above the sandy bottom of a ditch. The spherical shape, the proboscis and the broad "inverted South America" plates above the eyes point to Hydrachna globosa. But after inspection of the underside it turned out: this is a nymph and so the species cannot be determined from the scales. It could be a nymph of H. globosa, but H. conjecta or even H. cruenta is also possible. Because this mite was found in a small pond that connected to the larger ditch where H. conjecta was found, I thought that this could also be a nymph of that species. The name Hydrachna globosa is a standard example of the problematic naming of water mites: the first researchers called all water mites "Hydrachna" (water spider). Later that name was restricted as a genus name for the current Hydrachna species. The addition globosa is also misleading: almost all Hydrachnids are spherical. This is a dark specimen, the color can also be lighter red. The dark, blood-red color can be found in the also misleading species name cruenta.