Aspects of the Relationship Between Burying Beetles, Necrophorus Spp. and the Mite, Poecilochirus necrophori Vitz

Abstract

The various types of association between mites and other invertebrates, particularly insects, have been discussed by Vitzthum (1941) and Tragardh (1943), and more recently by Evans, Sheals & Macfarlane (1961). The associations fall into five broad categories, the parasitic and predacious mites being the best defined and studied. The other categories are commensals, phoretic species and exudate feeders, and detailed information on the relationships between the mites and other animals involved in these apparently harmless associations is lacking. During a study of the biology of the carrion beetles, Necrophorus humator 01. and N. investigator Zett. on the Fame Islands, Northumberland, in 1963 and 1964, it was found that all of these beetles carried large numbers of mesostigmatid mites, the commonest species of mite being Poecilochirus necrophori Vitz. The life history of these mites, associated with Necrophorus humator, has previously been studied by Neumann (1943), who indicated that the relationship is a loose one, the mite being a paraphage and symphorist, using the beetle for transport and feeding on the fly maggots and the carrion encountered by the host. Neumann obtained all stages of the life cycle of Poecilochirus necrophori from the host, and he found that a single generation lasted 8-9 days. The present investigation aims at elucidating the interaction of P. necrophori with Necrophorus and demonstrates the complex interrelationship between these two animals as well as their interdependence.