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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Phoretic dispersal on bumblebees by bromeliad flower mites (Mesostigmata, Melicharidae)

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Author(s):
Guerra, T. J. [1] ; Romero, G. Q. [2] ; Costa, J. C. [1] ; Lofego, A. C. [2] ; Benson, W. W. [1]
Total Authors: 5
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Estadual Campinas UNICAMP, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil
[2] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Dept Zool & Bot, IBILCE, BR-15054000 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 2
Document type: Journal article
Source: Insectes Sociaux; v. 59, n. 1, p. 11-16, FEB 2012.
Web of Science Citations: 7
Abstract

Nectarivorous flower mites (Mesostigmata: Melicharidae) live mostly on hummingbird-pollinated plants in the New World. We observed Proctolaelaps sp. living on Neoregelia johannis (Bromeliaceae) in a coastal rain forest site in south-eastern Brazil. Flower anthesis of this bromeliad lasted a single day. We recorded mites moving into, feeding from, presumably mating and reproducing, and exiting bromeliad flowers within just a single day. We observed three ant species predating flower mites on bromeliads. The main visitor was the bumblebee Bombus morio, which always landed on the inflorescence to access nectar inside the bromeliad flowers. We found Proctolaelaps sp. mites on 47% of 38 bumblebees inspected, with each Bombus hosting 2 mites on average; only adults and mostly female mites (93%) usually found on the bumblebees' gula region of the head. This is the first study to document nectarivorous flower mites living on a melittophilous host plant using bumblebees for phoretic dispersal. (AU)