Partial faunistic study of mesostigmatid mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) associated with ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari Province

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Plant Protection Department, Agricultural College, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran.

Abstract

Mesostigmatid mites are a large group with a global distribution. In a faunistic study on mesostigmatid mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) associated with ants in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari Province during 2020–2021, samples were collected from different parts, their mites extracted using Berlese funnels, cleared in lactic acid and then identified after mounting in Hoyer's medium on microscope slides. Totally, 35 mite species belonging to 23 genera and 11 families of Mesostigmata were collected from the nests of 15 species of ants. Among them, two families, one subfamily, five genera and nine species are reported for the first time from Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari Province, also 13 species are recorded for the first time from ant nests from Iran, which are marked with asterisk and circle in tables 2 and 3, respectively. Additionally, Pergamasus (Thenargamasus) quisquiliarus (G. and R. Canestrini, 1882), Laelaspis elongatus Kazemi, Mehrzad and Latifi, 2016, Pseudoalliphis sculpturatus Karg, 1963 and Arctoseius minutus (Halbert, 1915) are reported for the second time from Iran.

Keywords


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