Pre-ovipositional and ovipositional behaviour of Trichouropoda ovalis (C.L. Koch) and Uroobovella marginata (C.L. Koch) (Parasitiformes: Uropodina: Trematuridae, Urodinychidae) with notes on egg incubation and hatching behaviour

ABSTRACT

Egg deposition by the soil mites Trichouropoda (= Oodinychus) ovalis (C.L. Koch and Uroobovella (= Fuscuropoda) marginata (C.L. Koch), egg incubation and hatching behaviour were observed using continuous video-monitoring. The oviposition in both species was found to consist of three distinct phases. In Phase 1, both species engage in pre-ovipositional activity prior to the egg being extruded from the genital opening. Phase 1 lasted approximately 7.5 minutes in T. ovalis and about 6 minutes in U. marginata. Phase 2 involved egg deposition and lasted approximately 2.5 times longer in T. ovalis (88 seconds) than in U. marginata. Egg covering occurs in Phase 3, and in both species lasts about 25 minutes. Incubation time in U. marginata (137 hours) was approximately 30% shorter compared to that of T. ovalis, while the hatching time was 2 times longer (150 min) in the latter species.

KEYWORDS:

• Trematuridae
• Urodinychidae
• oviposition
• egg laying behaviour

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Jerry Krantz (Oregon State University, USA), Bruce Halliday (Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, Canberra, Australia) and Daria Bajerlein (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland) for their help with access to Uropodina publications.

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.