du Toit C A, Holter P, Lutermann H, Scholtz C H
Scarab Research Group, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Med Vet Entomol. 2012 Dec;26(4):455-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2915.2011.01008.x. Epub 2012 Jun 20.
Various species of dung beetle serve as intermediate hosts after ingesting the embryonated eggs (11-15 × 30-37 µm) of Spirocerca lupi (Spirurida: Spirocercidae) in dog faeces. The feeding mechanisms of coprophagous dung beetles restrict the size of the food particles they can ingest and hence may determine which species can be efficient vectors for S. lupi. In this study, we aimed to exclude certain dung beetle species as possible hosts of S. lupi based on whether or not they ingested latex beads of known diameters mixed into fresh cattle dung. We found that the majority (11/14) of species tested can potentially serve as intermediate hosts of S. lupi because their mouthparts allow the passage of food particles larger than the minimum size range of the eggs of this parasite.
各种蜣螂在摄入狗粪便中狼旋尾线虫（旋尾目：旋尾科）的胚胎卵（11 - 15×30 - 37微米）后成为中间宿主。食粪蜣螂的取食机制限制了它们能够摄入的食物颗粒大小，因此可能决定哪些物种可以成为狼旋尾线虫的有效传播媒介。在本研究中，我们旨在根据某些蜣螂物种是否摄入混入新鲜牛粪中的已知直径乳胶珠，来排除它们作为狼旋尾线虫可能宿主的可能性。我们发现，大多数（11/14）受试物种有可能成为狼旋尾线虫的中间宿主，因为它们的口器允许大于这种寄生虫卵最小尺寸范围的食物颗粒通过。
