Knemidokoptes pilae
| Knemidokoptes pilae | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Knemidokoptes pilae | ||||||||||||
| Lavoipierre & Griffiths , 1951 |
Knemidokoptes pilae is a representative of the mite , which is a parasite thatcolonizesthe beak of parrots - especially budgies - andtriggersthe so-called Schnabelräude .
morphology
K. pilae are round-oval mites. The males are up to 220 µm long and about 150 µm wide, females up to 356 µm long and about 300 µm wide. The four pairs of legs are short and stubby and have 5 limbs. Males have undivided sticky stalks and cups at the ends of their extremities, while females have claws.
Way of life
K. pilae lives on the horny substance of infected birds, which they dissolve with the help of a keratinase . The mites are mainly located in the area of the wax skin and the corner of the beak. They live permanently on their host, the infection of other hosts occurs through contact infection .
The viviparous females drill tunnels in the epidermis and give birth to six-legged larvae , from which the adults skin through two eight-legged nymph stages .
literature
- Wieland Beck: Schnabelräude by Knemidocoptes pilae (Acaridida: Knemidocoptidae) in the budgie - pathogen biology, pathogenesis, clinic, diagnosis and therapy. In: Kleintierpraxis 45 (2000), pp. 453-456.