Phoretic mites of the six-spined engraver beetle,Ips sexdentatus(Böerner, 1776) (Coleoptera, Scolytinae), onPinus halepensisin Slovenia

In September 2009, specimens of Ips sexdentatus were captured using black cross vane traps in an old stand of Pinus halepensis Miller at Dekani in the submediterranean ecological region of Slovenia. Twenty-four per cent of them carried phoretic mites, and six taxa of mites were collected directly from their bodies: Cercoleipus coelonotus, Dendrolaelaps quadrisetus, Histiostoma ovalis, Trichouropoda polytricha, Uroobovella varians and Vulgarogamasus lyriformis. All of these species are documented here for the first time as associated with the six-spined engraver beetle in Slovenia. Both D. quadrisetus and V. lyriformis are predatory on bark beetle eggs and larvae and could be useful in biological control programmes. Moreover, H. ovalis may be an important vector of fungal spores of ophiostomatoid pathogenic fungi.urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B3E36510-4687-42B8-BDCC-3912A2AB9EE0