ECTOPARASITISM OF ANISOPTERAN DRAGONFLIES (INSECTA: ODONATA) BY WATER MITE LARVAE OF ARRENURUS SPP. (ARACHNIDA: HYDRACHNIDA: ARRENURIDAE) IN CENTRAL INDIA

About authors:

Andrew R.J., Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Hislop College, Nagpur, 440 001, India

Thaokar N., Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Hislop College, Nagpur, 440 001, India
Verma P., Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Hislop College, Nagpur, 440 001, India

Annotation:

There is no report on the frequency, species selection and site specificity of water mites’ ectoparasitism within and among dragonfly species of India. Here, we present a field survey of the species selection and site specificity of ectoparasite larval arrenurid mites on anisopteran adults at Nagpur city of central India. Since the female odonates returns to water to oviposit, it would be of some advantage for the mite to show a female-biased parasitism in order to return to water easily and continue the remaining aquatic part of their life cycle. A total of 204 specimens of anisopteran odonates belonging to 11 species were
examined for the presence of larval Arrenurus spp. as ectoparasites during the post-monsoon (August–September 2010) and summer (March–April 2011) months from a large pond in central India. Only 14 dragonflies specimens of six species (Acisoma panorpoides, Brachythemis contaminata, Crocothemis servilia, Diplacodes trivialis, Neurothemis t. tullia, and Trithemis pallidinervis) were found to be parasitized (overall prevalence of 6.86%). The prevalence for C. servilia was 28.6%, followed by Trithemis pallidinervis and Acisoma panorpoides at 21.4%. The total number of parasites recorded was 465 at an average of 33.26 perspecimen. The parasite load per host species was the highest in T. pallidinervis (92.6) followed by C. servilia (24). In C. servilia, A. panorpoides and D. trivialis the mites were attached venterally to the thorax and were mostly arranged in a ‘v’ or triangular shape, while in B. contaminata and T. pallidinervis the mites were found all over the ventral abdomen. In one T. pallidinervis male and one C. servilia female, mites were found both on the thorax as well as the abdomen. The maximum number of mites found on an individual dragonfly was on the female abdomen of T. pallidinervis (114), while only one mite was found on the thorax of a male C. servilia. Mite infestation was sex-biased — 71.0% and 85.7% of infested odonates were females in August–September and March–April, respectively

Bibliography:

Abro, A. 1982. The effect of parasitic water mite larvae
(Arrenurus spp.) on Zygopteran imagoes (Odona-
ta). J. Invertebr. Pathol, 39: 373–381.

Andre, J. and Cordero, A. 1998. Effects of water mite
on damselfly Ceriagrion tenellum. Ecol. Ent., 23:
103–109.

Bakers, R.L., Forbes, M.R. and Rutherford, P.L. 2007.
Do larval damselflies make adaptive choices when
exposed to both parasites and predators? Ethology,
113: 1073–1080.

Bonn, A., Gasse, M., Rolff, J., and Martens, A. 1996.
Increase fluctuation asymmetry (FA) in the dam-
selfly Coenagrion puella correlated with ectopara-
site water mites: implication for fluctuation asym-
metry theory. Oecologia, 108: 596–598.

Botman, G., Coenen, L. and Lanciani, C.A. 2002. Para-
sitism of Ichnura posita (Odonata: Coenagrioni-
dae) in Florida by two species of water mites. Fla
Ent., 85: 279–280.

Corbet, P.S. 1999. Dragonflies: behavior and ecology
of Odonata. Harley Books, England. 829 pp.

Davids, C. 1997. The influence of larval parasitism on
life history strategies in water mites (Acari, Hy-
drachnidia). Arch. Hydrobiol., 141: 35–43.

Forbes, M.R. 1991. The use of parasitic mites to age
dragonflies. Am. Midl. Nat., 82: 359–366.

Forbes, M.R., Muma, K.E. and Smith, B.P. 2004. Re-
capture male and female dragonflies in relation to
parasitism by mites, time of season, wing-length
and wing cell asymmetry. Exp. Appl. Entomol.,
34: 79–93.

Lajeunesse, M.J., Forbes, M.R. and Smith, B.P. 2004.
Ectoparasitism of damselflies by water mite in
central Florida. Florida Entomology, 90 (4): 643–
649.

McKef, D., Harvey, L., Thomas, M., and Sherratt, T.N.
2003. Mite infestation of Xanthocnemis zealandica
in a Chritschurch pool. N. Z. J. Zool., 30: 17–20.

Mitchell, R.D. 1969a. A model accounting for sympa-
try in water mites. Am. Nat., 104: 425–431.

Mitchell, R.D. 1969b. Population regulation of larval
water mites. In: G.O. Evans (Ed.). Proc. 2nd Int.
Congress of Acarology. Akademiai Kiado, Buda-
pest, p. 99–102.

Münchberg, P. 1935. Zur Kenntnis der Odonaten-Para-
siten, mit ganz besonder Berückischtigung der
Ökolong der in Europa an Libellen schmarotzen-
den Wassermibelarven. Arch. Hydrobiol., 29:
1–122.

Smith, I.M. and Oliver, D.R. 1976. The parasitic asso-
ciations of larval water mites with imaginal aquat-
ic insect, especially Chironomidae. Can. Ent.,
108: 1427–1442.

Smith, I.M. and Oliver, D.R. 1986. Review of parasitic
associations of larval water mites (Acari: Para-
sitengona: Hydrachnidia) with insect host. Can.
Ent., 118: 407–472.

Smith, I.M. 1988. Host parasite interaction and impact
on larval water mite on insects. Ann. Rev. Ento-
mol., 33: 487–507.

Rehfeldt, G. 1995. Naturliche Feinde, Parasiten und
Fortpflanzen von Libellen. Wolfram Schmidt,
Braunschweig.

Rolff, J. 2000. Water mites parasitism in damselflies
during emergence: two hosts, one pattern. Ecogra-
phy, 23 (3): 273–282.

Robb, T. and Forbes, M.R. 2006. Sex basis in parasitism
of newly emerged damselflies. Ecosci., 13: 1–4.

Rutherford, P.L., Baker, R.L. and Forbes, M.R. 2007.
Do larval damselflies make adaptive choices when
exposed to both parasites and predators? Ethology,
113: 1073–1080.

Zawal, A. 2004. Parasitizing of dragonflies by water
mite larvae of the genus Arrenurus in the neigh-
borhood of the Barlinek (NW Poland). Zool. Polo-
niae, 49: 37–45.

Zawal, A. 2006. Phoresy and parasitism: water mite lar-
vae of the genus Arrenurus (Acari: Hydrachnidia)
on Odonata from Lake Binowskie (NW Poland).
Biological letters, 43 (2): 257–276.

Zawal, A. and Dyatlova, E.S. 2006. Preliminary data
for parasitizing on Ischnura elegans (Vander Lin-
den, 1820) (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) by Arrenu-
rus (Acari: Hydrachnidia) larvae from Odessa
province (Southwestern Ukraine). Proc. II Int.
Sympo. Ecol. Montenegro: 17–20.