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A new feather mite Pelargolichus orientalissp. nov. is described from the Oriental White Stork, Ciconia boyciana Swinhoe, 1873, one of the world's most endangered bird species. This mite species was collected from feathers of the Oriental White Storks bred in the Tama Zoological Park in Japan. The native population of the Oriental White Stork and feather mites associated with this bird had been extinct in Japan since 1986. Wild individuals of this bird species were transported from the Eurasian Continent to Japanese breeding facilities, and in the 2000s, a small wild population was restored. The new mite species is presently distributed in natural fields in Japan along with its introduced host population. This study presents the first record of the feather mite genus Pelargolichus in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of the feather mite genus Trouessartia (Trouessartiidae) is described from the Large Niltava Niltava grandis (Blyth) (Passeriformes, Muscicapidae) in Northeast India (Meghalaya, Jaintia Hills, Shnongrim village). Trouessartia niltavae Constantinescu, sp. n. is morphologically closely related (no phylogenetic meaning) to T. bulligera Gaud, 1968 from Clytorhynchus hamlini (Mayr) (Passeriformes: Monarchidae), sharing in males a unique character within the genus, by having setae e on legs IV hemispheroid, with spine-shaped apex. Males of the new species have the prodorsal shield without ornamentation, the prohysteronotal shield and lobar shield connected, and the terminal cleft parallel sided. Females have the posterior half of the hysteronotal shield ornamented with large ovate lacunae in central area and small elliptical lacunae marginally. To the morphological description of this new feather mite species we added sequence data on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene fragment (COI). The phylogenetic relationships between Trouessartia species are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of the feather mite genus Proterothrix (Proctophyllodidae: Pterodectinae) is described from the Large Niltava Niltava grandis (Blyth) (Passeriformes, Muscicapidae) in northeast India (Meghalaya, Jaintia Hills, Shnongrim village). Proterothrix chachulae Constantinescu, sp. n. differs from all known species of the genus by having in males the aedeagus with bilobate tip. The morphological description is supplemented with molecular characterisation of a fragment f near the 5` terminus of the mitochondrial COI gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated Blattisocius dentriticus (Berlese) as a candidate predator of two mite species of public-health importance for humans and animals. We observed the development time, reproduction, survival and sex ratio of this predatory mite when fed on one of two pest mites, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) and Megninia ginglymura (Mégnin), under laboratory conditions, at a temperature of 25 ± 1°C and 80 ± 5% relative humidity, in the dark. The study started with 30 experimental units containing M. ginglymura as a food source and 30 containing T. putrescentiae, each with an egg of B. dentriticus obtained from fertilized females. The length of the pre-oviposition period was significantly longer when M. ginglymura was used as food, compared to T. putrescentiae. The life-table parameters for B. dentriticus differed on the two diets. These parameters indicated that the population of B. dentriticus fed on T. putrescentiae increased about 7.53 times (Ro = 7.53) every 14.3 days (T = 14.3), corresponding to a daily population growth of about 15% (λ = 1.15), i.e. a production of 0.14 female per female per day (rm = 0.14). B. dentriticus fed on M. ginglymura showed lower values (Ro = 2.79; T = 23.76; λ = 1.04; rm = 0.04). The gross reproductive rate (GRR) and the proportion of female offspring were higher on T. putrescentiae (GRR = 10.73; ratio of females to males = 0.87). Our study demonstrated that B. dentriticus is a potential predator, developing and reproducing successfully on the two mites T. putrescentiae and M. ginglymura. Blattisocius dentriticus performed better against T. putrescentiae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single individual of feather mite Alloptes (Conuralloptes) calidridis Dubinin, 1951 is reported from the covert feathers of a juvenile Dunlin Calidris alpina Linnaeus, 1758. A redescription of a male of this mite is given. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of Alloptes (C.) calidridis in a wild bird from Portugal, expanding the geographical distribution range of this ectoparasite to Western Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of the feather mite genus Trouessartia Canestrini (Acari: Trouessartiidae) is described from Myiobius atricaudus Lawrence, 1863 (Aves: Passeriformes: Tyrannidae) from Brazil. Trouessartia longiducta sp. nov. is remarkable in having the longest external copulatory tube in females among species of the genus Trouessartia. It differs from the closest species T. geospiza OConnor et al., 2005 in having the female copulatory tube extending beyond the level of lobar apices. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E46D73C3-0C6E-4A96-8F60-DCF84A3ED500 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feather mite Pterodectes ralliculae Atyeo and Gaud, 1977 (Proctophyllodidae: Pterodectinae) is the only proctophyllodid known from rallids (Gruiformes, Rallidae). Based on re-examination of the type material, this mite species is redescribed and transferred to the genus Montesauria Oudemans, 1905, Montesauria ralliculae (Atyeo and Gaud, 1977) comb. nov. This redescription brings details of structures missed in the original description: in both sexes, vertical setae ve are present, setae mG on genu II, gT on tibia II and wa on tarsi I and II are present; in males, the rudimentary epimeral sclerites rEpIIa are present and the female is illustrated for the first time. The transfer of P. ralliculae to Montesauria was also supported by the preliminary phylogenetic hypothesis recently proposed for the subfamily Pterodectinae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a second species of the feather mite genus Cotingodectes Valim and Hernandes, C. breviphallus n. sp., is described from Rupicola rupicola (Passeriformes, Cotingidae) in Brazil. A new genus, Berladectes, is erected to accommodate Dolichodectes neotropicus Hernandes and Valim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new genera and five new species of feather mites of the family Proctophyllodidae are described from passerine birds from Brazil: Tyranniphyllodes pitangi gen. n., sp. n. from Pitangus sulphuratus (Tyrannidae); Atrichophyllodes delalandi gen. n., sp. n. from Corythopis delalandi (Tyrannidae); A. mentalis gen. n., sp. n. from Dysithamnus mentalis (Thamnophilidae); Anisophyllodes candango sp. n. from Elaenia chiriquensis (Tyrannidae); and Platyacarus sittasomi sp. n. from Sittasomus griseicapillus (Dendrocolaptidae). The discovery of these taxa might give data for a better understanding of the evolution of the family Proctophyllodidae in general and the dispersion of these mites on passerines in South America in paricular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a species colonizes a new area, it has the potential to bring with it an array of smaller-bodied symbionts. Rock Pigeons (Columba livia Gmelin) have colonized most of Canada and are found in almost every urban center. In its native range, C. livia hosts more than a dozen species of ectosymbiotic arthropods, and some of these lice and mites have been reported from Rock Pigeons in the United States. Despite being so abundant and widely distributed, there are only scattered host-symbiont records for rock pigeons in Canada. Here we sample Rock Pigeons from seven locations across Canada from the west to east (a distance of > 4000 km) to increase our knowledge of the distribution of their ectosymbionts. Additionally, because ectosymbiont abundance can be affected by temperature and humidity, we looked at meteorological variables for each location to assess whether they were correlated with ectosymbiont assemblage structure. We found eight species of mites associated with different parts of the host's integument: the feather dwelling mites Falculifer rostratus (Buchholz), Pterophagus columbae (Sugimoto) and Diplaegidia columbae (Buchholz); the skin mites: Harpyrhynchoides gallowayi Bochkov, OConnor and Klompen, H. columbae (Fain), and Ornithocheyletia hallae Smiley; and the nasal mites Tinaminyssus melloi (Castro) and T. columbae (Crossley). We also found five species of lice: Columbicola columbae (Linnaeus), Campanulotes compar (Burmeister), Coloceras tovornikae Tendeiro, Hohorstiella lata Piaget, and Bonomiella columbae Emerson. All 13 ectosymbiont species were found in the two coastal locations of Vancouver (British Columbia) and Halifax (Nova Scotia). The symbiont species found in all sampling locations were the mites O. hallae, H. gallowayi, T. melloi and T. columbae, and the lice Colu. columbae and Camp. compar. Three local meteorological variables were significantly correlated with mite assemblage structure: annual minimum and maximum temperatures and maximum humidity in the month the pigeon was collected. Two local meteorological variables, annual maximum and average temperatures, were significantly correlated with louse assemblages. Our results suggest that milder climatic conditions may affect richness and assemblage structure of ectosymbiont assemblages associated with Rock Pigeons in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]