Nests of the black stork Ciconia nigra as a habitat for mesostigmatid mites (Acari: Mesostigmata)
2009
Błoszyk, Jerzy | Gwiazdowicz, Dariusz | Halliday, Bruce | Dolata, Paweł | Gołdyn, Bartłomiej
We surveyed the Mesostigmatid mite fauna of nests of the black stork Ciconia nigra, to determine the role of these mites in the biology of their hosts. We present preliminary results obtained on the basis of material collected from 31 nests. A total of 1,615 mite specimens was recorded, belonging to 39 species. The most abundant species were Dendrolaelaps strenzkei, Apionoseius infirmus, Macrocheles merdarius and Macrocheles ancyleus, which constituted more than 65% of all the specimens recorded. The presence of large numbers of predatory mites could be beneficial to the birds, if they feed on the eggs and larvae of the bird’s parasites. It is likely that many of the mite species found in these nests were carried there by phoresy on insects, mainly Coleoptera.
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