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17 pages, 1856 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Field Translocation of Mountain Pine Beetles Suggests Phoretic Mite Communities Are Locally Adapted, and Mite Populations Respond Variably to Climate Warming

by Sneha Vissa, David N. Soderberg and Richard W. Hofstetter

Insects 2021, 12(2), 131; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12020131 - 02 Feb 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2639

Abstract

Temperature is a key determining factor in the population dynamics of forest insects and their associated biota. Bark beetles, often considered key agents of change in forest ecosystems, are particularly affected by warming in their environment. Beetles associate with various phoretic mite species [...] Read more.

Temperature is a key determining factor in the population dynamics of forest insects and their associated biota. Bark beetles, often considered key agents of change in forest ecosystems, are particularly affected by warming in their environment. Beetles associate with various phoretic mite species that have direct/indirect effects on beetle fitness and population dynamics, although there is limited knowledge of how temperature affects these communities. Here, we use a field reciprocal translocation experiment with the addition of a novel “warming” environment to represent future changes in local environment in two populations of a keystone bark beetle species (Dendroctonus ponderosae). We hypothesize that mite community abundances as carried by bark beetles are significantly altered when not in their native environments and when subjected to climate warming. We use multivariate generalized linear models based on species abundance data to show that mite community compositions significantly differ across different field climates; and that these patterns diverge between source populations, indicating local adaptation. Our study offers foundational information on the general effects of simulated climate-warming on the compositional shifts of common and abundant biotic associates of mountain pine beetles and may be used as a model system for other important insect–mite systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Importance of Phoretic Mites and Nematodes in Community Interactions Involving Insects)

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13 pages, 1779 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Disparity of Phoresy in Mesostigmatid Mites upon Their Specific Carrier Ips typographus (Coleoptera: Scolytinae)

by Marius Paraschiv and Gabriela Isaia

Insects 2020, 11(11), 771; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11110771 - 08 Nov 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2146

Abstract

Ips typographus Linnaeus, 1758, the most important pest of Norway spruce (Picea abies Linnaeus, 1753) from Eurasia has damaged, in the last decades, a large area of forest in Romania. Associations between beetles and their symbiotic fungi are well known compared to [...] Read more.

Ips typographus Linnaeus, 1758, the most important pest of Norway spruce (Picea abies Linnaeus, 1753) from Eurasia has damaged, in the last decades, a large area of forest in Romania. Associations between beetles and their symbiotic fungi are well known compared to beetle-mite relationships. The objectives of the study are to determine: (i) the diversity of mites species associated with I. typographus in a local outbreak from Central Romania; (ii) the mite’s preferences concerning the body parts of their carriers; and (iii) how phoresy changes during seasonal flight activity of the host. A total of 7896 adult I. typographus were analyzed and six mite species (both adults and immature stages) were found: Dendrolaelaps quadrisetus Berlese,1920, Proctolaelaps fiseri Samsinak, 1960, Trichouropoda polytricha Vitzthum, 1923, Histiostoma piceae Scheucher, 1957, Uroobovella ipidis Vitzthum, 1923, and Uroobovella vinicolora Vitzthum, 1926. Most mites were observed under the carriers’ elytra (46.8%), while 26.7% and 25.8% were seen on the thorax and elytral declivities, respectively. Mite phoresy peaked in the spring corresponding to the dispersal flight of the carrier. A smaller peak in phoresy occurred in the summer during the second beetle generation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Importance of Phoretic Mites and Nematodes in Community Interactions Involving Insects)

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12 pages, 1181 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gamasina Mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) Associated with Animal Remains in the Mediterranean Region of Navarra (Northern Spain)

by Sandra Pérez-Martínez, María Lourdes Moraza and Marta Inés Saloña-Bordas

Insects 2019, 10(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10010005 - 05 Jan 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4222

Abstract

Mites should not be overlooked as a forensic tool, as many are commonly associated with decomposing animal matter and are closely associated with specific insect carriers and habitats. It is necessary to increase our understanding of the diversity of mites that are found [...] Read more.

Mites should not be overlooked as a forensic tool, as many are commonly associated with decomposing animal matter and are closely associated with specific insect carriers and habitats. It is necessary to increase our understanding of the diversity of mites that are found in human and animal remains, their geographical distribution, and their population dynamics. This work is the first study of the role of mites in forensic science in the Mediterranean region of Navarra (northern Spain). Samples were taken using three types of traps (96 modified McPhail, 96 modified pitfall, and 32 carrion on surface) baited with pig carrion during the period between 11 April and 24 June, 2017. Insects were collected in 100% of the traps and only 27% of them contained mites. Information on 26 species of mites belonging to seven families, their ontogenetic phoretic stage/s, their abundance, and presence/absence during the spring season of the study is given. The most abundant species collected were Macrocheles merdarius, Poecilochirus austroasiaticus, and Poecilochirus subterraneus. We are contributing 16 new records for the Iberian Peninsula: seven species of Parasitidae, three species of Macrochelidae, four species of Eviphididae, one species of Halolaelapidae, and one species of Laelapidae. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Importance of Phoretic Mites and Nematodes in Community Interactions Involving Insects)

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