Lesna Izabela, Wolfs Peter, Faraji Farid, Roy Lise, Komdeur Jan, Sabelis Maurice W
Section Population Biology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 320, 1098 SM, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2009 Jun;48(1-2):63-80. doi: 10.1007/s10493-009-9239-1. Epub 2009 Jan 30.
The poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae, is currently a significant pest in the poultry industry in Europe. Biological control by the introduction of predatory mites is one of the various options for controlling poultry red mites. Here, we present the first results of an attempt to identify potential predators by surveying the mite fauna of European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) nests, by assessing their ability to feed on poultry red mites and by testing for their inability to extract blood from bird hosts, i.e., newly hatched, young starlings and chickens. Two genuine predators of poultry red mites are identified: Hypoaspis aculeifer and Androlaelaps casalis. A review of the literature shows that some authors suspected the latter species to parasitize on the blood of birds and mammals, but they did not provide experimental evidence for these feeding habits and/or overlooked published evidence showing the reverse. We advocate careful analysis of the trophic structure of arthropods inhabiting bird nests as a basis for identifying candidate predators for control of poultry red mites.
禽刺螨（Dermanyssus gallinae）目前是欧洲家禽业的一种重要害虫。引入捕食性螨类进行生物防治是控制禽刺螨的多种选择之一。在此，我们展示了首次尝试的结果，即通过调查欧洲椋鸟（Sturnus vulgaris）巢穴中的螨类区系、评估它们捕食禽刺螨的能力以及测试它们无法从鸟类宿主（即刚孵化的幼椋鸟和小鸡）身上吸血的情况，来确定潜在的捕食者。鉴定出了两种真正捕食禽刺螨的捕食者：尖锐下盾螨（Hypoaspis aculeifer）和卡氏安德逊螨（Androlaelaps casalis）。文献综述表明，一些作者怀疑后一种螨类寄生于鸟类和哺乳动物的血液中，但他们没有为这些取食习性提供实验证据，和/或忽视了已发表的相反证据。我们主张仔细分析栖息在鸟巢中的节肢动物的营养结构，以此作为确定控制禽刺螨的候选捕食者的基础。
