Abstract
A survey of soil fauna in Poland revealed 30 cases of centipedes carrying mites of the sub-order Uropodina. The 155 phoretic deutonymphs collected belonged to two species of Uropodina - Oodinychus ovalis (C.L. Koch, 1839) and Uroobovella pulchella (Berlese, 1904). These mites displayed a high degree of selectivity in their choice of carrier. The only species of centipede transporting mites was Lithobius forficatus (Linnaeus, 1758), despite the presence of 30 other species in the same habitats. It is possible that the large size and relatively fast speed of movement of this centipede make it a very good mite carrier. The majority of the mites were located on the sides of the centipedes, on segments near the anterior end. The high selectivity in the choice of carrier as well as the point of attachment suggests adaptation by the mites for phoresy by L. forficatus.
Highlights
Phoresy is a phenomenon involving the active transport of one animal by another
The results presented here are preliminary, and the material studied was collected during earlier studies on Chilopoda, which did not focus on the phoresy
Phoretic mites were found on 10 different species of Chilopoda, but Uropodina were found only on one species
Summary
Phoresy is a phenomenon involving the active transport of one animal by another. It constitutes a highly effective method of dispersal for small flightless invertebrates, such as mites. It creates an opportunity for them to rapidly colonize temporary microhabitats isolated from one another and spread over a wide area (e.g. tree holes). It is a strategy for speedy colonization of new areas. There is, little information on the dispersal of mites by centipedes Such information that is available is found in Lewis (1981), who lists 9 species of centipede in which phoresy has been observed. More recently Mašán (2001), in his work on Uropodina in Slovakia, mentions phoretic deutonymphs of Oodinychus ovalis and Uroobovella pulchella on Lithobius forficatus
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