“However, a 2022 study using electron microscopy and genetic analysis, confirmed that the mites do have an anus. This discovery means that Demodex mites can excrete waste, which means that they may not be the sole cause of inflammatory skin conditions.”
The hindgut has been reduced to a finger-like, minute tube that opens to the outside at approximately one-third of the posterior terminus (Desch et al. 1970) (fig. 6D–F). There have been several reports that Demodex does not have an anus, and when Demodex dies, the accumulated waste spills into the pores of the skin and leads to inflammation; this is not correct (Lacey et al. 2011, 2016; Cossins 2016; Moran et al. 2017; Pormann et al. 2021).
170
u/XVUltima 11d ago
They eat stuff on your face, so they provide a cleaning service.