Scutacarus acarorum
| Scutacarus acarorum | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scutacarus acarorum , dorsal |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Scutacarus acarorum | ||||||||||||
| ( Goeze , 1780) |
Scutacarus acarorum is a ground-dwelling species of mite that is in bumblebee nests to settle increasingly and operate its adult females Phoresy on bumblebee queens to the newly established nest.
Occurrence
Scutacarus acarorum is common in most of the northern hemisphere . Between 2005 and 2008 it was found on a number of native bumblebees in Argentina, albeit in such small numbers that it is assumed that it is not native there. The mite species is one of the three most common phoretically found mite species on bumblebees in Central Europe . Of the heterostigmatic mites , it occurs most frequently phoretically on bumblebees.
nutrition
While Goeze described all the phoretically living mite species on bumblebees as ectoparasites that attach themselves to the host and feed on the hemolymph during the winter , no physical connection between the hemolymph and the mite could later be demonstrated. Even in more recent literature, the term sucking ectoparasite is often incorrectly written. In the bumblebee nests, the mites feed by sucking on the hyphae of mushrooms. However, the preferred types of fungus have not yet been identified. Under laboratory conditions, fungi that grew on the dried honeycombs of the previous year's bumblebee nests did not lead to a successfully completed life cycle. Successful reproduction took place when the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum Darling , which is found on honeybees and in honeybeehives, was available. With reduced fungal growth due to drought or too strong competition for food, the females also suckle on the fur-like protruding hyphae of a fungus of the genus Mucor . If the drought worsens so that no mushrooms grow, the females collect in hollows in the breeding vessels, where they can survive for over five months. The typical soil fungus Cunninghamella elegans could also be identified as a fodder fungus accepted by the mites.
Life cycle
Phoretic phase of life
Females whose ovaries have not yet matured can be found on bumblebees of most species and all castes . Queens and young queens are preferred when voting. Although they are found on almost all bumblebee species, including the cuckoo bumblebee, they are more common (approx. 53% of queens in spring) and greater numbers (approx. 8% queens transport more than 10) on queens of the earth bumblebee complex to find, whose nests are large, damp and whose nesting material is often very moldy. In order to anchor themselves on the bumblebees, they have a large claw on their first pair of legs. The mites often cling to the animals in the hairy area on the large front pair of wings near the wing joints. However, they also sit to a lesser extent on Parasitellus fucorum , another species of bumblebee mite that sometimes lives phoretically, in which they cling to the legs near the body. So they overwinter phoretically or hyperphoretically for 6 to 8 months with the bumblebee queens. In the case of potentially bivoltine bumblebee species or in warm regions with permanent nests, this resting phase is shortened under suitable environmental conditions. In Central Europe, one nest foundation per year is still the rule for potentially bivoltine bumblebees.
Reproductive phase
After the bumblebee queen has awakened from the diapause and has established a nest, the mites leave their phoresis host and colonize the nest. The trigger that ends the phoretic phase of life has not yet been found. In laboratory tests in Petri dishes, they only moved when the hyphae of a mushroom reached their place, which would, however, require the bumblebee to die. If their food is available in sufficient quantity, it takes nine days to reach the adult male or the female resting larva. During this time, the ovaries develop in the female, eggs are laid, the larvae hatch, grow and develop into adults. An egg-laying female can be recognized by the slightly physogastrically inflated abdomen, which houses the matured ovaries. Before mating, the males transport female resting larvae on their backs to move them to another location and to mate with the females as soon as they hatch. Non-egg-laying females sometimes climb bumblebees, preferring the young queens that appear at the end of the social phase of the bumblebee nest. The phoretically living females are 190-330 µm long. The males are about 170 µm long. Mites grown in nature have a greater variability in body size compared to mites grown in the laboratory.
Web links
Wikispecies: Scutacarus acarorum - species directory- Scanning electron microscopy, phoretic adult mite, dorsal, ventral, lateral
- Scanning electron microscopy, phoretic adult mite, ventral, detail of mouthparts, detail of legs
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Johann AE Goeze: Newly discovered parts of insects. (First description), in: Der Naturforscher , 14th piece, 1780, JCD Schreber (Ed.), Halle, pp. 93-102. Excerpt , accessed on September 6, 2016.
- ^ Johann August Ephraim Goeze: Insects on animals, and even on insects. (first mention, drawing), in: Activities of the Berlin Society of Friends of Nature Research. Volume 2, FHW Martini (ed.), Berlin 1776, pp. 253-286. Scans from p. 275 , 285 and 623 , accessed December 1, 2016.
- ↑ Anthonie Cornelis Oudemans : Acarus acarorum Goeze, 1780. (Summary of the known sources), in: Kritisch Historisch Overzicht der Acarologie. , Tweede Gedeelte (Volume 2), 1759-1804, EJ Brill (Ed.), Leiden 1929, pp. 247-248, scan from p. 247 , accessed December 1, 2016.
- ↑ GBIF (Ed.): Taxonom. Scutacarus acarorum , GBIF ID 6916483, accessed September 7, 2016.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Christian Schousboe: On the Biology of Scutacarus acarorum Goeze (Acarina: Trombidiformes) , in: Acarologia , T. 27, Fasc. 2, pp. 151–158, 1986. PDF online (924kB), accessed on September 7, 2016.
- ^ A b c Matias Maggi, Mariano Lucía, Alberto H. Abrahamovich: Study of the acarofauna of native bumblebee species (Bombus) from Argentina. , in: Apidologie , Springer Verlag, 2011, 42 (3): 280–292. doi : 10.1007 / s13592-011-0018-8 , HAL Id: hal-01003549, PDF online (882 kB), accessed on September 21, 2016.
- ^ Wit Chmielewski: The mites (Acarina) found on bumble-bees (Bombus Latr.) And their nests. , in: Ekologia Polska , 19: 57-71, 1971.
- ^ A b c Wit Chmielewski, Richard A. Baker: Mites (Acarina) phoretic on some common bumblebee species (Bombus spp.) From the Puławy area (south-eastern Poland). , in: Journal of Apicultural Science , Volume 52, Issue 1, Pages 37-47, ISSN 1643-4439 (print). PDF online (1.54 MB), accessed on September 8, 2016.
- ↑ a b Julia Jagersbacher-Baumann: Traditional and geometric morphometric analyzes reveal homogeneity in European Scutacarus acarorum Goeze, 1780 populations (Acari: Scutacaridae: Heterostigmatina) , in (online): Taylor & Francis Online, November 5, 2014, doi : 10.1080 / 00222933.2014.974705 , in (print): Journal of Natural History , Vol. 49, Issue 19-20, 2015, S: 1173-1190. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
- ↑ a b Julia Jagersbacher-Baumann, Ernst Ebermann: Methods for rearing scutacarid mites (Acari, Heterostigmatina) and the influence of laboratory cultures on morphometric variables . In: Experimental and Applied Acarology . tape 59 , no. 4 , September 25, 2012, ISSN 0168-8162 , p. 447-462 , doi : 10.1007 / s10493-012-9621-2 ( springer.com [accessed October 21, 2016]).
- ^ Ernst Ebermann: Tragwirt communities (Phoresie) in arachnids (Arachnida). (PDF; 2.33 MB) , in: Diversity and biology of spiders, scorpions and other arachnids , Konrad Thaler (Ed.), Denisia 12, also catalogs of the Upper Austrian State Museums, New Series 14, pages 93–110, Linz 2004, ISSN 1608-8700 , ISBN 3-85474-120-0 . Retrieved September 3, 2016.
- ^ André Pouvreau, Pierre Robert: Maladies et parasites des bourdons. Données scientifiques et techniques. , in: cari.be, o. J. (1995 or 1996), PDF online (437 kB), accessed on September 8, 2016.