On three separate occasions I have encountered this mite, what seems to be the of same species, attached to the proboscis of Aedes aegypti and Culex erraticus species of mosquitoes. My guess is that it is hitching a ride from something (flower/bird), but I haven't been able to find a mite that matches. I'm hoping an expert here can at least get me to a genus or know what host it is from. Thank you in advance!
Update (4/25/22) - The genus has been determined to most likely be Cheyletiella due to the rounded body shape and large palpal claws but the species is still unknown. Since this post, a couple more mites were found on Culex mosquitoes attached in the same manner (high up on the mosquito's proboscis). Two PCR attempts failed so it is looking like visual ID of the solenidion will be the way to go. As we prepare to begin mosquito trapping again, I am sure more specimens will be obtained for either stacked photography or SEM. Regardless of species, it is looking like this is a phoretic relationship. I have reached out to other mosquito biologists to keep an eye out for these mites while identifying mosquitoes under the microscope.
Hi Beth,
You've got an interesting find there - they look like the family Cheyletidae to me. It's a big family of mites, with about 80% of its members being predatory and 20% parasitic (almost entirely on vertebrates). Of the predatory mites, a diversity of groups form phoretic associations with insects such as bees, scolytine beetles, moths and butterflies and robber flies. I don't know of anything from mosquitoes, but haven't combed the literature.
I don't know the family completely, but with those long caudal setae and a fairly squat body, they look like something along the lines of Ornithocheyletia. These mites are known from hippoboscid flies, which they use for transport between hosts. If it turns out you find these only on female mosquitoes, then perhaps they're getting these mites while they feed on birds.
Slide-mounting specimens would of course be essential for accurate identification.
See this publication for a short and useful treatment of one species of Ornithocheyletia:
Article Promyialges italicus sp. Nov. (Astigmata: Epidermoptidae) wi...
Best wishes,
Owen.
I agree with Owen.
It looks like Cheyletidae. I never heared about cheyletids associated with mosquitos.
I agree with my colleagues a very interesting mite, please if you can send me the material we can study it with the cryo-sem. My e-mail is [email protected]
Hello Beth
I agree with Owen in being a member of Ornithocheyletia. Try to make good slides and run the attached key published by the wonderful acarologist Alex FAIN. Despite his revision of the genus was back in 1981, but it's really a comprehensive useful one.
All the best
Mohamed NEGM
Thank you all, your input and help is very much appreciated! I plan to delve much deeper into this.
What a good finding, it would be good to carry out a study on this interaction and to know if it is due to phoresis or predation, the mite is Ornithocheyletia sp. And the culicidae looks like an Aedes