Please help identify this tiny bug [duplicate]

Question

Starting about 2 months ago I began seeing these tiny, light brown bugs in one bathroom. I did find them outside the bathroom but in close proximity to it (on a childs wooden toy and in our picture frames on the wall). I haven't seen them elsewhere. Most of the time I'd find them dead and they die very easily. I'd find small patches of them, usually under something or behind something with less light. Otherwise I find them just moving a long the sink and find them in the corner of the tub. I have seen them on the wall and floor too. They can move fast but most of the time are still or slow moving. I haven't experienced any bites nor my family. The amount I see has lessened since I first noticed them.

I did get a pest control company out a month ago and they said it looked like field mites. Said they were harmless, attracted to moisture with a short life span and they'd be gone in a few weeks on their own. They haven't gone away though and when I research mites I find nothing that looks like it. It's too small for my phone to focus on so I took one to work and got a picture under the microscope. It's about 1 mm in length. Also, I do have a cat that goes outside.

Geographic location = Central Virginia, USA

Answer 1

Lovely picture.

This is quite likely to be one of the organisms known colloquially as "Booklice". In fact this is probably one of the genus Liposcelis, which is a genus of small wingless insects within the booklouse family Psocodea. They are common pests of stored items, including books, stored cereals, dusty areas etc, as they will eat almost anything of plant or animal origin.

I think I have the right genus here because of the enlarged top joint on the 3rd pair of legs, and prominent abdomen. Compare your image with the image below from wikipedia:

(Image copyright: MAF Plant Health & Environment Laboratory, CC BY 3.0 AU https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en, via Wikimedia Commons)