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Spatial aggregation of phoretic mites on Bombus atratus and Bombus opifex (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Argentina

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Abstract

Mites have been observed on the bumblebee’s body and inside their nest for over 150 years, and parasitic relationships between them have occasionally been reported. One of the most interesting animal associations between mites and bees is phoresy. At present, no study has evaluated the distribution patterns of phoretic mites on bumblebees nor the factors that might be influencing such association. The main goal of this research was to determine whether an aggregation of external mites on bumblebees is influenced by (a) the phoretic mite load per bee, (b) the host species, (c) the caste of bumblebee, (d) the interaction between mite load and bee species, and (e) the presence of a suitable physical place for the mites to accommodate on the bee body. The following mite species were recorded on Bombus atratus and Bombus opifex: Kuzinia laevis, Kuzinia americana, Kuzinia affinis, Kuzinia sp., Pneumolaelaps longanalis, Pneumolaelaps longipilus, Scutacarus acarorum, and Tyrophagus putrescentiae. Our results indicate that Kuzinia mites have a strong preference for a particular region on the propodeum, which has shorter hairs than on most areas of the body. In addition, generalized linear model analysis demonstrated that mite aggregation was influenced by the caste and host species.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge and thank to Pavel Klimov (University of Michigan, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), Diana Sammataro (ARS USDA), Victor H. Gonzalez (Southwestern Oklahoma State University and University of Kansas, Lawrence), and four anonymous reviewers for their critical reading and comments that improved an earlier version of the manuscript. We would like to acknowledge the curators of the following museums who provided access to host bee specimens used in this study: Colomo de Correa M.V (FIML), Sergio Roig Juñet (IADIZA), and Norma B. Diaz (MLP). We also wish to thank CONICET and UNDMP for their financial supports.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Artrópodos, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes 3350, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Pablo Revainera & Matias Maggi

  2. División Entomología, Museo de La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina

    Mariano Lucia & Alberto Horacio Abrahamovich

  3. CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rivadavia 1917, C1033AJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Mariano Lucia, Alberto Horacio Abrahamovich & Matias Maggi

Authors
  1. Pablo Revainera
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  2. Mariano Lucia
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  3. Alberto Horacio Abrahamovich
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  4. Matias Maggi
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Correspondence to Pablo Revainera.

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Manuscript editor: James Nieh

Agrégation spatiale des acariens phorétiques sur Bombus atratus et Bombus opifex (Hymenoptera: Apidae) en Argentine

Bourdon / phorésie / Acari

Räumliche Zusammenballung von phoretischen Milben auf Bombus atratus und Bombus opifex (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Argentinien

Hummeln / phoretische Milben / Zusammenballung

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Revainera, P., Lucia, M., Abrahamovich, A.H. et al. Spatial aggregation of phoretic mites on Bombus atratus and Bombus opifex (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Argentina. Apidologie 45, 579–589 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-014-0275-4

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