‘If you are reading this, you are probably not alone.

Most people on Earth are habitats for mites that spend the majority of their brief lives burrowed, head-first, in our hair follicles, primarily on the face.

In fact, humans are the only habitat for Demodex folliculorum. They are born on us, they feed on us, they mate on us, and they die on us.

Their entire life cycle revolves around munching your dead skin cells before kicking the teeny tiny bucket.

So reliant is D. folliculorum on humans for its survival, research suggests, that the microscopic mites are in the process of evolving from an ectoparasite into an obligate symbiont – possibly one that shares a mutually beneficial relationship with its hosts (that’s us).

In other words, these mites may be gradually ‘merging’ with our bodies, becoming so specialized to their human habitat that they can no longer survive independently, according to a 2022 paper published in Molecular Biology and Evolution….’ (Michelle Starr via ScienceAlert)