Infection of army ant pupae by two new parasitoid mites (Mesostigmata: Uropodina)
A great variety of parasites and parasitoids exploit ant societies. Among them are the Mesostigmata mites, a particularly common and diverse group of ant-associated arthropods. While parasitism is ubiquitous in Mesostigmata, parasitoidism has only been described in the genus Macrodinychus. Yet infor...
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| Format: | Article |
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PeerJ Inc.
2017-10-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/3870.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797424368426418176 |
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| author | Adrian Brückner Hans Klompen Andrew Iain Bruce Rosli Hashim Christoph von Beeren |
| author_facet | Adrian Brückner Hans Klompen Andrew Iain Bruce Rosli Hashim Christoph von Beeren |
| author_sort | Adrian Brückner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A great variety of parasites and parasitoids exploit ant societies. Among them are the Mesostigmata mites, a particularly common and diverse group of ant-associated arthropods. While parasitism is ubiquitous in Mesostigmata, parasitoidism has only been described in the genus Macrodinychus. Yet information about the basic biology of most Macrodinychus species is lacking. Out of 24 formally described species, information about basic life-history traits is only available for three species. Here we formally describe two new Macrodinychus species, i.e. Macrodinychus hilpertae and Macrodinychus derbyensis. In both species, immature stages developed as ecto-parasitoids on ant pupae of the South-East Asian army ant Leptogenys distinguenda. By piercing the developing ant with their chelicera, the mites apparently suck ant hemolymph, ultimately killing host individuals. We compare infection rates among all studied Macrodinychus species and discuss possible host countermeasures against parasitoidism. The cryptic lifestyle of living inside ant nests has certainly hampered the scientific discovery of Macrodinychus mites and we expect that many more macrodinychid species await scientific discovery and description. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T08:01:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0b9090e9ec2b4207a4145df1816d1026 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T08:01:20Z |
| publishDate | 2017-10-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
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| spelling | doaj.art-0b9090e9ec2b4207a4145df1816d10262023-12-03T00:40:42ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592017-10-015e387010.7717/peerj.3870Infection of army ant pupae by two new parasitoid mites (Mesostigmata: Uropodina)Adrian Brückner0Hans Klompen1Andrew Iain Bruce2Rosli Hashim3Christoph von Beeren4Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, GermanyDepartment of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States of AmericaSchool of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne VIC, AustraliaInstitute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science Building, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaEcological Networks, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, GermanyA great variety of parasites and parasitoids exploit ant societies. Among them are the Mesostigmata mites, a particularly common and diverse group of ant-associated arthropods. While parasitism is ubiquitous in Mesostigmata, parasitoidism has only been described in the genus Macrodinychus. Yet information about the basic biology of most Macrodinychus species is lacking. Out of 24 formally described species, information about basic life-history traits is only available for three species. Here we formally describe two new Macrodinychus species, i.e. Macrodinychus hilpertae and Macrodinychus derbyensis. In both species, immature stages developed as ecto-parasitoids on ant pupae of the South-East Asian army ant Leptogenys distinguenda. By piercing the developing ant with their chelicera, the mites apparently suck ant hemolymph, ultimately killing host individuals. We compare infection rates among all studied Macrodinychus species and discuss possible host countermeasures against parasitoidism. The cryptic lifestyle of living inside ant nests has certainly hampered the scientific discovery of Macrodinychus mites and we expect that many more macrodinychid species await scientific discovery and description.https://peerj.com/articles/3870.pdfArmy antsMyrmecophileParasiteAnactinotrichidaPupal infectionMacrodinychus extremicus |
| spellingShingle | Adrian Brückner Hans Klompen Andrew Iain Bruce Rosli Hashim Christoph von Beeren Infection of army ant pupae by two new parasitoid mites (Mesostigmata: Uropodina) PeerJ Army ants Myrmecophile Parasite Anactinotrichida Pupal infection Macrodinychus extremicus |
| title | Infection of army ant pupae by two new parasitoid mites (Mesostigmata: Uropodina) |
| title_full | Infection of army ant pupae by two new parasitoid mites (Mesostigmata: Uropodina) |
| title_fullStr | Infection of army ant pupae by two new parasitoid mites (Mesostigmata: Uropodina) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Infection of army ant pupae by two new parasitoid mites (Mesostigmata: Uropodina) |
| title_short | Infection of army ant pupae by two new parasitoid mites (Mesostigmata: Uropodina) |
| title_sort | infection of army ant pupae by two new parasitoid mites mesostigmata uropodina |
| topic | Army ants Myrmecophile Parasite Anactinotrichida Pupal infection Macrodinychus extremicus |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/3870.pdf |
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