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22 March 2024 Identification, seasonality, and body attachment location and nomenclature of parasitic water mites (Trombidiformes: Arrenuridae) on Anopheles crucians sensu lato, Anopheles quadrimaculatus sensu lato, and Culex erraticus (Diptera: Culicidae) from a North Florida botanical garden
William J. Piwowarek, Decyo McDuffie, Edwin R. Burgess IV
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Abstract

Water mites (Hydrachnidia) commonly parasitize mosquitoes; however, the nature of these parasitic interactions remains poorly understood. We sampled mites collected from mosquitoes taken from CDC light traps placed in a botanical garden in Northern Florida from April to November 2022. Mites were found almost exclusively parasitizing the mosquitoes, Anopheles crucians sensu lato (Wiedemann, 1828), Anopheles quadrimaculatus sensu lato (Say, 1824), and Culex erraticus (Dyar and Knab, 1906). All sampled mites were of the genus Arrenurus. Further identification proved to be impossible given the available resources. Seasonality of the mites corresponded with the seasonality of their hosts, with the highest numbers being recorded in May and September. Nomenclature for mite attachment sites on mosquitoes was developed and provided. Mites most commonly attached to the second abdominal segments of all sampled mosquitoes with varied positions around the segment depending on mosquito species. We found significance for the relationship between the abdominal segment mites attached to and what position on the segment mites would take for Cx. erraticus, which indicates a preference of attaching directly underneath the second and fourth abdominal segments. Such a relationship was not found for either Anopheles species.

William J. Piwowarek, Decyo McDuffie, and Edwin R. Burgess IV "Identification, seasonality, and body attachment location and nomenclature of parasitic water mites (Trombidiformes: Arrenuridae) on Anopheles crucians sensu lato, Anopheles quadrimaculatus sensu lato, and Culex erraticus (Diptera: Culicidae) from a North Florida botanical garden," Journal of Medical Entomology 61(3), 657-666, (22 March 2024). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjae036
Received: 9 November 2023; Accepted: 5 March 2024; Published: 22 March 2024
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KEYWORDS
Arrenurus
Culicidae
mosquito
parasite
Water mite
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