Associations of Phoretic Mites on Bark Beetles of the Genus Ips in the Black Sea Mountains of Turkey

Cihan Cilbircioğlu,Milan Pernek,Marta Kovač

doi:10.3390/f12050516

Abstract

Phoretic mites use bark beetles for transportation to new, suitable habitats. Some phoretic mites act as predators and parasitoids of the bark beetles’ immature stages, especially egg and early larval stages, and are potential agents for the biological control of scolytine forest pests. Mites live very frequently in relationships with other invertebrates. Many are found in association with various species of bark beetles. Here, a total of 41 specimens of different bark beetles of the genus Ips (Ips acuminatus, Ips sexdentatus and Ips typographus) were studied for presence, species composition, and abundance of phoretic mites. The beetles were collected on dead wood and parts of tree bark of Pinus nigra, Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies in the Black Sea Mountains in Kastamonu and Artin Province of Turkey. A total of nine mite species were found, including Dendrolaelaps quadrisetus, Ereynetes sp., Histiostoma piceae, Paraleius cf. leontonychus, Pleuronectocelaeno barbara., Proctolaelaps hystricoides, Schizostethus simulatrix, Trichouropoda lamellosa and Uroobovellaipidis. All species are identified for the first time within Turkish fauna.

Highlights

Bark beetles are known to be associated with diverse guilds of arthropods and microorganisms, of which phoretic mites are among the best-known
The aim of this study was to identify phoretic mites associated with bark beetles in Ilgaz Mountains of Northern Turkey, in order to make the first list of species composition in this region
The ecological roles of phoretic mites associated with bark beetles are generally poorly known

Summary

Introduction

Bark beetles are known to be associated with diverse guilds of arthropods and microorganisms, of which phoretic mites are among the best-known. Phoretic mites use bark beetles for transportation to new suitable habitats and some species are able to impact bark beetle populations through parasitism or predation [2,3,4,5]. 270 mite species associated with different bark beetles have been identified [5,6], and up to now several new records have been registered and described [7]. Bark beetles are representatives of an ecologically, economically, and socio-politically important group that undergoes dramatic population eruptions, exerts high mortality to host plants at a landscape level, and fundamentally alters ecosystem structure and function under natural conditions [7,8,9]. Ips typographus L. (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) is considered one of the most damaging pests in Eurasian Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) forests

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