In eusocial insect colonies nestmates cooperate to combat parasites, a trait called social immunity. However, social immunity failed for Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) when the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor switched hosts from Eastern honey bees (Apis cerana). This mite has since become the most severe threat to A. mellifera world-wide....
Published in Fly
Only two parasite interactions are known for Drosophila to date: Allantonematid nematodes associated with mycophagous Drosophilids and the ectoparasitic mite Macrocheles subbadius with the Sonoran Desert endemic Drosophila nigrospiracula. Unlike the nematode-Drosophila association, breadth of mite parasitism on Drosophila species is unknown. As M. ...
The authors report results of several surveys carried out to collect phytoseiid mites, between April 2008 and January 2009, in crops and natural surrounding vegetation in several locations of Guadeloupe, La Desirade, Les Saintes and Martinique. A catalogue of 11 new species for Guadeloupe, La Desirade, Les Saintes and Martinique is provided with so...
The authors report results of several surveys carried out to collect phytoseiid mites, between April 2008 and January 2009, in crops and natural surrounding vegetation in several locations of Guadeloupe, La Desirade, Les Saintes and Martinique. A catalogue of 11 new species for Guadeloupe, La Desirade, Les Saintes and Martinique is provided with so...
To assess their potential to control poultry red mites (Dermanyssus gallinae), we tested selected predaceous mites (Androlaelaps casalis and Stratiolaelaps scimitus) that occur naturally in wild bird nests or sometimes spontaneously invade poultry houses. This was done under laboratory conditions in cages, each with 2–3 laying hens, initially 300 p...
This is the fifth publication in a series to determine the phytoseiid mites of sub-Saharan Africa. Thirty-one phytoseiid species of the subtribe Amblyseiina are reported in this paper. They refer to all species of this subtribe known to occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Ten of these species are described for the first time, 15 species are redescribed an...
The parasitic mite Varroa-jacobsoni is one of the most serious pests of Western honey bees, Apis mellifera. The mites parasitize adult bees, but reproduction only occurs while parasitizing on honey bee brood. Invasion into a drone or a worker cell is therefore a crucial step in the life of Varroa mites. In this thesis, individual mites, the populat...
What are infochemicals?Chemical compounds play an important role in interactions between organisms. Some of these chemicals are to the benefit (e.g. nutrients) or detriment (e.g. toxins) of an organism. Others are of benefit or detriment in an indirect way: through the behavioural response they elicit. The latter chemicals are termed infochemicals ...
