da Costa Talitha Rochanne Alves Abreu, Lima Maria Fernanda Santos, Furtado Imeuda Peixoto, Duarte Marcelo
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Nazaré 481, Ipiranga, São Paulo, SP, CEP 04263-000, Brazil.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2024 Dec 17;94(1):14. doi: 10.1007/s10493-024-00976-7.
The current understanding of ectoparasitic mites, especially those belonging to Otopheidomenidae, has been constrained by limited data derived primarily from museum specimens. To bridge this knowledge gap, we undertook a study to investigate mite infestations on freshly captured hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). From August 2016 to July 2018, we collected samples in the Chapada do Araripe area in the municipality of Santana do Cariri (7°12'33''S, 39°43'22''W, 750 m a.s.l.), Ceará, Northeast Brazil. We attracted and captured sphingids using an artificial light source and then gathered mites from them. Among the 3,690 sphingid specimens collected from 37 species of both sexes, 119 individuals from 18 species were found to be mite-infested-a prevalence rate of 3.3%. We identified four mite species: Prasadiseius donahuei (Prasad), Prasadiseius cocytes (Prasad) (Otopheidomenidae), Callidosoma selmae Costa, Klompen, Santos, Favretto & Pepato, and an unidentified Caeculisoma species (Erythraeidae). Our data revealed the importance of seasonality for both host and parasite populations, and we observed no specific preference for infestation sites. This research recorded several first-time observations: a sphingid infested by two species of otopheidomenid mites, C. selmae parasitizing sphingids, and mites recorded from the legs of sphingids. The species Erinnyis ello ello (Linnaeus) was not only the most abundant but also the most frequently parasitized. This host presented the highest parasitism descriptors. Among the 662 mites identified, 506 were P. donahuei, predominantly infesting E. ello ello. We recommend further research to explore the potential for coevolutionary dynamics between mites and their hosts, examining how host defenses and mite adaptations influence each other over time.
目前，对于外寄生螨类，尤其是属于耳螨科的螨类的认识，主要受到来自博物馆标本的有限数据的限制。为了填补这一知识空白，我们开展了一项研究，调查新捕获的天蛾（鳞翅目：天蛾科）上的螨类感染情况。2016年8月至2018年7月，我们在巴西东北部塞阿拉州桑塔纳-杜卡里里市的阿拉里皮高原地区（南纬7°12'33''，西经39°43'22''，海拔750米）采集样本。我们使用人工光源吸引并捕获天蛾，然后从它们身上采集螨类。在从37种两性天蛾标本中收集的3690个标本中，发现18种的119个个体受到螨类感染，感染率为3.3%。我们鉴定出四种螨类：多纳休普拉萨德螨（Prasadiseius donahuei）（普拉萨德）、科西普拉萨德螨（Prasadiseius cocytes）（普拉萨德）（耳螨科）、塞尔玛卡里多螨（Callidosoma selmae） 科斯塔、克洛彭、桑托斯、法弗雷托和佩帕托，以及一种未鉴定的盲螨属（Caeculisoma）物种（赤螨科）。我们的数据揭示了季节性对宿主和寄生物种群的重要性，并且我们没有观察到对感染部位的特定偏好。这项研究记录了几项首次观察结果：一只被两种耳螨科螨类感染的天蛾、塞尔玛卡里多螨寄生于天蛾、以及从天蛾腿部记录到螨类。埃洛埃洛埃天蛾（Erinnyis ello ello）（林奈）不仅是数量最多的，也是最常被寄生的。这种宿主呈现出最高的寄生特征。在鉴定出的662只螨类中，506只是多纳休普拉萨德螨，主要感染埃洛埃洛埃天蛾。我们建议进一步开展研究，以探索螨类与其宿主之间协同进化动态的潜力，研究宿主防御和螨类适应如何随时间相互影响。
