Ethnoacarology: the cultural importance of Acari around the world

Abstract

Ethnobiology is the science that identifies, describes, and classifies organisms with a cultural importance that are utilized by a particular human group. The term ‘cultural importance’ refers to the way people perceive an organism either as food or ornament, the role they play in the myths and legends in a region or even their usage in religious and civic ceremonies. Despite the high biological diversity of Acari, their cultural importance has been poorly studied, with information scarce and scattered. In this paper, I define ethnoacarology as the branch of acarology that compiles, documents, and analyzes the cultural values given to mites and ticks by a particular human group. I conducted a bibliographic search in databases with a combination of words: articles were classified according to the cultural values given to Acari. Thirty articles were recovered: most of them focused on the traditional knowledge and management of Acari and tick-borne diseases and other acariasis. I recognized five categories for the cultural value of Acari: 1) vernacular and autochthonous names; 2) management of pests and diseases; 3) Acari in oral and written tradition; 4) Acari and toponymy, and 5) entomophagy and traditional medicine. Citizen science represents an opportunity for acarology to obtain this type of data faster. Making people part of an acarological community could derive in faster data obtention, alternative techniques for the management of pests and diseases, the revalidation of traditional knowledge, and the participation of society in decision-making that can open the door to obtaining financing, among other benefits.