Looks like predatory mites to me. I had thrips a few weeks back and thought I took care of it. Looks like maybe I didn’t get them all and these mites stepped in and went into over drive.
Looks like beneficial soil mites... they're the good guys. Im not really sure why they would be on your pump housing unless you just have an overpopulation of them.
Thanks dudes. I’m leaning toward beneficials as well. I just needed some reaffirming. The mass population of them is very alarming. They’re on the walls now! I can only image that their population is going to flat line any day now. Im guessing they are cleaning up the thrip eggs I missed when I was dealing with them 2 weeks ago.
due to my location (Socal) im going to take a guess that it is “Neoseiulus californicus.” My plants looks happy in my opinion.