Chaetodactylus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chaetodactylus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chaetodactylus krombeini | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Superorder: | Acariformes |
| Order: | Oribatida |
| Superfamily: | Hemisarcoptoidea |
| Family: | Chaetodactylidae |
| Genus: | Chaetodactylus Rondani, 1866 |
Chaetodactylus is a genus of parasitic mite primarily associated with solitary bees with over 20 species.[1]
These mites usually kill young bee larvae and feed on provisioned pollen and nectar. In nests with partitions (Osmia), bees that develop in the innermost cells chew their way out of the nest, and phoretic deutonymphs from the opened cells may attach to them. The mites in the innermost cell may die because of their inability to break through the partition. In nests without partitions (Lithurgus), some young bees may complete development and transform to adults that disperse the mites.[1]
In colonies of Osmia cornifrons managed for pollination of blueberries in the US, Ch. krombeini phoretic deutonymphs could disperse from a nest to nearby nests by walking through nest entrances and holes made by parasitic wasps. Cross-nest dispersal via blueberry flowers visited by multiple individuals of O. cornifrons was proven to be negligible.[2][1]
