Laboratory infections of Scheloribates spp. (oribatid mites) with Moniezia expansa and M. benedeni.

Scheloribates laevigatus (Koch, 1836) and Scheloribates fimbriatus (Thor, 1930), predominant species of oribatids in soil of Bombay region, were experimentally exposed to infection by uniform suspensions of eggs of Moniezia expansa and M. benedeni. The percentages of mites infected and the average number of cysticercoids developing were observed in 12 sets of experiments. The mites were more readily infected with eggs of M. expansa than with those of M. benedeni. S. laevigatus were infected with M. expansa and less with M. benedeni than S. fimbriatus.