Part of me wanted to post this just so I could see how many people Google "llama dung mites" to get here (trust me - you should see what search terms bring people to this site - you're all weirdos).
Part of me is also fascinated that government monies paid for this, although, to be fair, the study started out studying lake sediments for signs of climate change, before they found all these little beasties.
And part of me is just plain fascinated.
They found a huge increase in the number of fossil mites as the empire expanded from the Cuzco area in the early 1400s. A sudden drop in numbers corresponded with the collapse of the native population after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.
Actually, llama dung mites is the name of my new garage band.