Temperature and humidity effects on physogastric development and reproduction of the mushroom mite Dolichocybe perniciosa (Acari: Dolichocybidae)

Abstract

The effects of temperature and humidity on physogastric development and reproduction of the mushroom mite Dolichocybe perniciosa (Acari: Dolichocybidae) were observed at five temperatures (8, 13, 18, 25 and 28°C), five relative humidities (22, 55, 65, 81 and 92% RH) and dark condition. Temperatures significantly affected the settling time, pre-physogastry time, physogastry rate, generation time and the number of progenies in physogastry, while humidity had little effect on these factors. Settling rate of wondering adult females increased and pre-physogastry time shortened with the increase of temperature. In the range of 13°C to 28°C more than two thirds of wondering females settled within 72 hours which was significantly higher than that at 8°C. About 60 to 64 progenies were produced when temperature was above 18°C. Dolichocybe perniciosa had the ability to survive at temperatures as high as 38°C and as low as 0°C after 24 hours but failed to settle and feed at –20°C or 42°C. It was capable to recover after being treated at 0°C for 72 hours.

100 Million-year-old straight-jawed lacewing larvae with enormously inflated trunks represent the oldest cases of extreme physogastry in insects

“…Besides these, there are also less well-known cases of physogastry. Other mites can expand in a fashion similar to that of ticks 5 , 7 , but are in fact more comparable to termite queens, as inflation is related to reproduction. Other queens, for example, among ants 23 – 26 and bees 27 , 28 , also show this feature, as do beetles and flies imitating termites and ants (adults 29 – 33 ; larvae 33 – 35 ).…”

A New Species of Pavania (Acari: Heterostigmata: Dolichocybidae) Associated With Scarabaeus Typhon (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) From Russia

“…Little is known about the behavioral patterns of dolichocybid mites, but all of them are probably fungivorous (Rack 1967;Magowski 1988;Kaliszewski et al 1995). Some species are important pests of edible mushrooms (Lan et al 2017). However, most dolichocybid mites are associated with insects (mostly beetles), utilizing them for phoresy (Khaustov and Trach 2017).…”

Revision of the family Dolichocybidae (Acari: Heterostigmata) from the collection of V.D. Sevastianov

“…Little is known about the way of life of dolichocybid mites, but all of them are probably fungivorous (Rack 1967;Magowski 1988;Kaliszewski et al 1995). Some species are important pests of edible mushrooms (Lan et al 2017).…”