| Summary: | We studied the quill mite fauna of the family Syringophilidae, associated with bee-eaters. We examined 273 bird specimens belonging to nine closely related species of the genus <i>Merops</i>, representing two phylogenetic sister clades of a monophyletic group. Our examination reveals the presence of two species of the genus <i>Peristerophila</i>, as follows: (1) a new species <i>Peristerophila mayri</i> sp. n. from <i>Merops viridis</i> in the Philippines, <i>M. leschenaulti</i> in Nepal and Sri Lanka, and <i>M. orientalis</i> in Sri Lanka; and (2) <i>P. meropis</i> from <i>M. superciliosus</i> in Tanzania and Egypt, <i>M. persicus</i> in Sudan, Tanzania, Liberia, Senegal, Kenya, and D.R. Congo, <i>M. ornatus</i> in Papua New Guinea, <i>M. philippinus</i> in Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and <i>M. americanus</i> in the Philippines. The prevalence of host infestations by syringophilid mites varied from 3.1 to 38.2%. The distribution of syringophilid mites corresponds with the sister clade phylogenetic relationships of the hosts, except for <i>P. meropis</i> associated with <i>Merops americanus</i>. Possible hypotheses for the host lineage shift are proposed.
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