Abstract
Introduced millipede species in the family Julidae are common in the U.S. but little is known about how they interact with other organisms, such as mites. To start to determine the nature of the relationship, millipedes were sampled from across the eastern U.S.A. and the United Kingdom in 2008–2009. Sixteen morphospecies of mites (Acari: Astigmata, Mesostigmata) were collected from these millipedes, 12 of which from a total of 13 species of julid millipedes. None of these 12 species was restricted to a single host species. However, 12 of the 16 mite species collected were restricted to either the U.S.A. or the U.K. These results are consistent with locality, rather than host, specificity.
Highlights
Mites evolved relationships with other arthropods between 100–300 million years ago with the diversification of both plants and arthropods in the late Mesozoic era (Southwood 1973)
Millipedes were collected by hand except in one instance (Whetstone Park, Columbus, OH) where litter was returned to the Ohio State University Acarology Laboratory (OSAL) for extraction by Berlese funnel
Mite Collections Representatives of 6 genera of mites were associated with millipedes collected in this study. These mites belong to two families in the cohort Astigmata; Acaridae and Histiostomatidae, and two families in the suborder Mesostigmata; Laelapidae and Uropodidae
Summary
Mites evolved relationships with other arthropods between 100–300 million years ago with the diversification of both plants and arthropods in the late Mesozoic era (Southwood 1973). Farfan & Hans Klompen / International Journal of Myriapodology 7: 69–91 (2012). Most available studies are limited to large mites associated with relatively large, tropical species of millipedes (generally length > 3 cm). Most of these mites belong to the suborder Mesostigmata (Table 1). This, makes it difficult to recollect these species or to study their ecological relationships
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