Flower Mites and Phoresy: the Biology of Hattena Panopla Domrow and Hattena Cometis Domrow (Acari:Mesostigmata:Ameroseiidae)

Abstract

Two flower-inhabiting ameroseiid mites exhibited different degrees of host specificity; Hattena panopla occurred only in Bruguiera gymnorhiza, but Hattena cometis occurred in Aegiceras corniculatum, Castanospermum australe, Dendrophthoe vitellina, Erythrina variegara, Aloe sp. and Amyema sp. Both species of mite consumed nectar and probably pollen in the laboratory. Flowers of B. gymnorhiza were short lived and senesced after about 5 days. Most H. panopla inhabited the flower for 1-3 days and relied on birds for transport between flowers, but could move from flower to flower via plant stems and were found on ants visiting dying flowers. H. panopla responded to an aging flower by moving out of the petals onto the calyx. All post-larval stages of H. panopla were phoretic; many immature mites of both species dispersed by climbing onto the dorsal surface of dispersing adult mites. The dispersal of immature mites and the behavioural response of H. panopla to flower age were considered to be adaptations to the mite's ephemeral habitat. Adult female H. cometis and adult male and female H. panopla had sucker-like ambulacra that lacked claws, a probable adaptation for phoresy.

A revision of the family Ameroseiidae (Acari, Mesostigmata), with some data on Slovak fauna

“…— Seeman 1996: 193; Halliday 1997: 190; Faraji and Cornejo 2006: 291; Palma et al 2013a: 404; Palma et al 2013b: 918; Alberti et al 2013: 1010.…”

Phoretic mites use flowers to transfer between foraging bumblebees

“…Transfer between hosts by using larger mites as vectors is also reported for Poecilochirus subterraneus (Müller) (Acari: Parasitidae) associated with burying beetles (Korn, 1983;Schwarz and Koulianos, in press) and Hattena spp. (Acari: Ameroseiidae) dispersing on nectar-feeding birds (Seeman, 1996).…”

Mites on Plants

“…The mites feed on pollen and nectar in the fl owers of mangroves, mistletoes and forest trees and shrubs, and use honeyeaters, spinebills and probably lorikeets, to move from plant to plant (Domrow 1979 ;Seeman 1996 ;Halliday 1996 ). For example, Hattena fl oricola lives in the fl owers of Australian shrubs in the genus Correa that are pollinated by the Eastern Spinebill ( Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris ).…”

“…The mite can walk between fl owers that are nearby, but relies on honeyeaters to move longer distances. Unlike Neotropical hummingbird mites, all post-larval stages are phoretic on birds (Seeman 1996 ). This association of Hattena with mangrove fl owers spans the Pacifi c Ocean: Hattena rhizophorae lives in Red Mangrove ( Rhizophora mangle ) fl owers on the coast of Ecuador (Faraji and Cornejo 2006 ).…”