https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5767-3180
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ABSTRACT
Phoresy is a type of commensalism exploited by many species of mites as a means of transportation. The present study reports the phoretic association of astigmatid and mesostigmatid mites with adults of the banana pseudostem weevil, Odoiporus longicollis Oliver, a major pest of banana. Weevil specimens were collected from eight localities in Kerala, South India, between June 2017 to January 2018. 91.8% of beetles carried mites: phoretic deutonymphs (hypopi) of an unknown species of Histiostoma (Astigmata: Histiostomatidae) and adults of Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Scopoli) (Mesostigmata: Macrochelidae). When their hosts died, Histiostoma sp. often fed upon the cadavers of their hosts, a relationship referred here as facultative necromeny. M. muscaedomesticae showed preference to the ventral surface of the host weevil while Histiostoma sp. preferred the sternal groove and subelytral surface.
Acknowledgments
We are thankful to Dr Owen Seeman, editor, International Journal of Acarology for the pre-review editing. The first author is thankful to the University Grants Commission, New Delhi for the financial support extended in the form of a Junior Research Fellowship. Sincere thanks to Mr Ranjith A P for the technical assistance. The first author is thankful to Dr Mugesh P for his help in statistical analysis. We thank the Central Sophisticated Instrumentation Facility, University of Calicut for providing SEM facility.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.