Poecilochirus Explained

Poecilochirus is a Holarctic genus of mites in the family Parasitidae.[1] They are relatively large (ca. 0.5-1mm) and often found on rotting corpses, where they are transported by beetles. Deuteronymphs are characterized by two orange dorsal shields and in many species a transverse band on the sternal shield. The juvenile development consists of a larval stage (three pairs of legs), protonymph, and deuteronymph, but no tritonymph. Females are smaller than males. Males guard female deuteronymphs shortly before these mate, and pairs mate venter-to-venter.[2]

Reportedly, some nematodes in the family Allantonematidae are parasites of mites in this genus.[3] Although some species from this genus have been described and sampled on previous real forensic cases or successional studies on carcasses, their usefulness as a forensic marker in forensic entomology has been recently appreciated.[4]

Phoresy on carrion beetles

At least eight species of the genus are carried from one food source to another by beetles of multiple genera in the family Silphidae, most notably burying beetles. The mite deutonymphs sit on the adult beetles, typically between the coxae or under the elytrons. The beetles breed on carrion, which some species bury. Once arrived on carrion, the mites leave the beetles, feed on the carrion, and develop into adults. The entire life cycle of the mites takes place on the carrion, and the young mites later leave again with the beetles.

The probably best studied species are from the Poecilochirus carabi species complex that consists of at least two species (P. carabi and P. necrophori).[5] [6] [7] In Europe, the two mite species are specialized on two different species of burying beetles, Nicrophorus vespilloides and Nicrophorus vespillo. The mites can recognize their main host beetle species and can produce more offspring along their preferred host beetle. Similarly, two genetic lines of Poecilochirus carabi mites have been reported from North America, which specialize on different sets of Nicrophorus hosts in some populations.[8] It is debated whether the mites harm the beetles or benefit them. Under certain conditions, the mites appear to protect the beetles' larvae or their food supply from fly larvae,[9] [10] but the presence of mites on beetle-tended carcasses also reduces male beetle life span and the number of beetle offspring.[11] [12] [13] [14]

Species and Identification

There is no recent treatment of the genus Poecilochirus. Identification keys mostly rely on the extent of a dark band across the sternal shield, the size of the dorsal shields, the doral chaetotaxy (mainly the length of the setae), and appendices of the fixed digit of the chelicerae. The first description of all life stages was published by Neumann.[15]

!Species!Synonyms!Habitat / Host species
Poecilochirus armatus Trägårdh, 1912
Poecilochirus austroasiaticus Vitzhum, 1930P. nordi[16] Nicrophorus and other Silphid beetles[17]
Poecilochirus belkahvensis Ramaraju & Madanlar, 1998mushroom compost
Poecilochirus belovae Davydova, 1975P. donatus[18]
Poecilochirus britannicus Hyatt, 1986
Poecilochirus carabi G. Canestrini & R. Canestrini, 1882Gamasoides carabi, P. fucorumNicrophorus vespilloides (main host), other Nicrophorus & Silphid beetles
Poecilochirus coimbatorensis Vishnupriya & Mohanasundaram, 1988
Poecilochirus coleophorae Ramaraju & Mohanasundaram, 1997beetles: Rutelidae, Scarabaeidae
Poecilochirus davydovae Hyatt, 1980Nicrophorus and other Silphid beetles
Poecilochirus hyatti Ramaraju & Madanlar, 1998mushroom compost
Poecilochirus macgillavryi Oudemans, 1927
Poecilochirus monospinosus Wise, Hennessey & Axtell, 1988chicken manure
Poecilochirus mrciaki Masan, 1999Nicrophorus and other Silphid beetles
Poecilochirus necrophori Vitzthum, 1930[19] Nicrophorus vespillo (main host), other Nicrophorus & Silphid beetles
Poecilochirus pilosula Banks, 1904Nicrophorus beetles
Poecilochirus rutellae Ramaraju & Mohanasundaram, 1997beetles: Rutelidae, Scarabaeidae
Poecilochirus sexclavatus Skljar, 2002Nicrophorus and other beetles
Poecilochirus simplisetae Ramaraju & Madanlar, 1998mushroom compost
Poecilochirus subterraneus Muller, 1859Nicrophorus and other Silphid beetles
Poecilochirus torbaliensis Ramaraju & Madanlar, 1998mushroom compost
A study of the Poecilochirus carabi complex genetics [20] suggests that the species complex consists of many more than only two species (P. necrophori and P. carabi). The mites from Asia and America that would previously have been identified as P. carabi based on their morphology are from distinct genetic lineages. Data suggest that there may be 17 different P. carabi complex species that are not yet described. In addition, the mites that have been identified as P. subterraneus based on their morphology also likely belong to more than one species.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Joel Hallan . Parasitidae Species Listing . Biology Catalog . . September 4, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100807053342/http://insects.tamu.edu/research/collection/hallan/Acari/Family/Parasitidae.txt. 7 August 2010 . dead.
  2. Schwarz. H.H.. Walzl. M.G.. September 1996. Pairing, oviposition and development in two sibling species of phoretic mites (Acari: Mesostigmata: Parasitidae: Poecilochirus spp.) associated with burying beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae: Nicrophorus spp.). Journal of Natural History. en. 30. 9. 1337–1348. 10.1080/00222939600771251. 0022-2933.
  3. Book: Encyclopedia of Entomology. Springer. 2008. 978-1-4020-6242-1. Capinera. John L.. 2nd. Springer reference. Dordrecht; London. 756. 156813127. 23 July 2009.
  4. González Medina A, González Herrera L, Perotti MA, Jiménez Ríos G. March 2013. Occurrence of Poecilochirus austroasiaticus (Acari: Parasitidae) in forensic autopsies and its application on postmortem interval estimation. Experimental & Applied Acarology. 59. 3. 297–305. 10.1007/s10493-012-9606-1. 22914911. 16228053.
  5. Brown. Jonathan M.. Wilson. David Sloan. 1992. Local Specialization of Phoretic Mites on Sympatric Carrion Beetle Hosts. Ecology. 73. 2. 463–478. 10.2307/1940753. 1940753.
  6. Müller. J K. Schwarz. H H. Differences in carrier-preference and evidence of reproductive isolation between mites of Poecilochirus carabi (Acari, Parasitidae) living phoretically on two sympatric Necrophorus species (Coleoptera, Silphidae). Zoologische Jahrbücher, Abteilung für Systematik, Ökologie und Geographie der Tiere. 117. 23–30.
  7. Nehring V, Müller JK, Steinmetz N . Phoretic Poecilochirus mites specialize on their burying beetle hosts . Ecology and Evolution . 7 . 24 . 10743–10751 . December 2017 . 29299254 . 5743630 . 10.1002/ece3.3591 .
  8. Brown. Jonathan M.. Wilson. David Sloan. 1992. Local Specialization of Phoretic Mites on Sympatric Carrion Beetle Hosts. Ecology. en. 73. 2. 463–478. 10.2307/1940753. 1940753. 1939-9170.
  9. Web site: American Burying Beetle . 2008-07-21 . Backlund . Doug . 1994 . South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, Division of Wildlife . https://web.archive.org/web/20080430192837/http://www.northern.edu/natsource/ENDANG1/Buryin1.htm . 2008-04-30.
  10. Web site: Decomposition: Mites . 2008-07-21 . 2003 . Australian Museum . https://web.archive.org/web/20080627013902/http://www.deathonline.net/decomposition/corpse_fauna/mites.htm . 2008-06-27.
  11. Wilson. David Sloan. Knollenberg. W. G.. April 1987. Adaptive indirect effects: the fitness of burying beetles with and without their phoretic mites. Evolutionary Ecology. 1. 2. 139–159. 10.1007/bf02067397. 13408474. 0269-7653.
  12. De Gasperin O, Kilner RM . Friend or foe: inter-specific interactions and conflicts of interest within the family . Ecological Entomology . 40 . 6 . 787–795 . December 2015 . 26681822 . 4678582 . 10.1111/een.12259 .
  13. De Gasperin O, Kilner RM . Interspecific Interactions and the Scope for Parent-Offspring Conflict: High Mite Density Temporarily Changes the Trade-Off between Offspring Size and Number in the Burying Beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides . PLOS ONE . 11 . 3 . e0150969 . 2016-03-17 . 26985819 . 4795767 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0150969 . 2016PLoSO..1150969D . free .
  14. Nehring. Volker. Teubner. Heide. König. Sandra. 2019-09-01. Dose-independent virulence in phoretic mites that parasitize burying beetles. International Journal for Parasitology. en. 49. 10. 759–767. 10.1016/j.ijpara.2019.05.011. 31401062. 199540492 . 0020-7519.
  15. Neumann. K-W. 1943. Die Lebensgeschichte der Käfermilbe Poecilochirus necrophori Vitzth. nebst Beschreibung aller Entwicklungsstufen. Zool. Anz.. 142. 1–21.
  16. Hyatt. Keith H. 1987. Mites of the genus Holoparasitus Oudemans, 1936 (Mesostigmata: Parasitidae) in the British Isles. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). 52. 139–164. 10.5962/bhl.part.18305. 0007-1498. free.
  17. Perotti. M. Alejandra. Braig. Henk R.. October 2009. Phoretic mites associated with animal and human decomposition. Experimental and Applied Acarology. en. 49. 1–2. 85–124. 10.1007/s10493-009-9280-0. 19557527. 9692589. 0168-8162.
  18. Haitlinger. R.. 1988. [Mites (Acari) occurring in Poland on beetles of the genus Carabus Linnaeus 1758 (Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae)]]. Wiadomosci Parazytologiczne. 34. 3. 329–346. 0043-5163. 3232387.
  19. Baker. Anne S.. Schwarz. Horst H.. July 1997. Morphological differences between sympatric populations of the Poecilochirus carabi complex (Acari: Mesostigmata: Parasitidae) associated with burying beetles (Silphidae: Nicrophorus). Systematic Parasitology. 37. 3. 179–185. 10.1023/a:1005822702267. 35796587. 0165-5752.
  20. Canitz . Julia . Sikes . Derek S. . Knee . Wayne . Baumann . Julia . Haftaro . Petra . Steinmetz . Nadine . Nave . Martin . Eggert . Anne‐Katrin . Hwang . Wenbe . Nehring . Volker . January 2022 . Cryptic diversity within the Poecilochirus carabi mite species complex phoretic on Nicrophorus burying beetles: Phylogeny, biogeography, and host specificity . Molecular Ecology . en . 31 . 2 . 658–674 . 10.1111/mec.16248 . 34704311 . 0962-1083. free .

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