This is Acarus electricus, a mite first noticed by Andrew Crosse in 1837. Crosse was an amateur scientist, and was conducting experiments on the growth of crystals by subjecting certain minerals to long term, low level electric currents. The mineral sample, an iron oxide, was imbibed with a toxic mixture of hydrochloric acid and a silicate of potash solution, and continuously electrified by means of a battery. Several weeks into the experiment, filaments began to appear on the stone, which apparently resembled insects. Eventually, Crosse noticed movement, and detected a great number of living mites on the sample. He repeated the experiment under closely monitored conditions using sterilized and sealed equipment. Again, the mites appeared. Word soon got out, and popular opinion was that living creatures had been synthesized from inorganic matter. Crosse was called everything from a blasphemer to a Frankenstein, despite the fact that he never made any claims that he had created life, or even discovered a new species. In fact, he never attempted to explain the phenomenon, other than hazarding a guess that they may have hatched from airborne eggs deposited before the device was sealed.

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