Analysis of the phoretic relationships between mites of the genus Trichouropoda Berlese (Parasitiformes: Uropodina) and the longhorn beetle Plagionotus detritus (Linnaeus) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) based on multiannual observations in Białowieża Primeval Forest, Central Europe

ABSTRACT

We studied the phoretic relationships between the mites of the genus Trichouropoda Berlese, 1916 (Uropodina) and the longhorn beetle Plagionotus detritus (Linnaeus, 1758) based on large samples of specimens (2050 beetles and 19,216 mites) collected in the Białowieża Primeval Forest in Central Europe. Phoresy was studied over the years 2014, 2015, and 2016, with the emphasis on multi-annual trends in host–phoront associations, seasonal changes in intensity of phoresy, proportion of carriers of mites in the beetle population, and preferences of phoretic deutonymphs for specific parts of the host’s body. The high repeatability in all the variables we studied indicates high stability of the phoretic relationships, probably resulting from the synchronization of life cycles of beetle dispersants and phoretic mites. The long-term coevolution of phoronts and carriers in a natural forest ecosystem, as well as the expected close association of mites with specific beetle-generated microhabitats in larval galleries, may be important factors affecting the strength of the phoretic relationship.

KEYWORDS:

• Uropodina mites
• Plagionotus detritus
• phoresy
• dead wood merocenoses
• natural forest

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Jon Sweeney, the coordinator of entomological research, for his permission to use the samples in the acarological survey. We thank Krzysztof Sućko for his assistance with the trapping of beetles. We thank Dr Zbigniew Adamski for taking the SEM images and Dr Jerzy Kozak for valuable help in statistical analyses. We also thank Dr Bruce Halliday for improving the English in the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partly funded by the project 680602 implemented under the agreement between the Canadian Forest Service in Canada and the Forest Research Institute in Poland.