Yes that's the crazy part. They don't take in any sperm at all from other males. Meaning that there's no fresh new genetic input. The mites of this genus are more or less one step ahead of being parthenogenetic. Basically the larval children inbreed and fertilise themselves, then eat their way out of their mothers. The children grow to maturity within a few days and then their inbred offspring do the same, mating in utero and then eating their way out of them. Generation after generation of inbreeding (which would be disastrous in any other species) but somehow not only do they thrive but are genetically stable. It seems that certain insect and invertebrate species do very well with inbreeding and science is just unravelling this mystery.

Oh and thanks for reading my writeup :) Weird insects and their sordid sex lives have always been a favourite topic of mine :)