Infestations of Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman can influence many aspects of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colony performance. Treatment thresholds have typically focused on overwintering colony survival, but impacts on colony productivity during the spring and summer, including honey production, also require consideration. We analyzed 320 colonies across 2 New Zealand sites, measuring Varroa densities and colony strength from spring to harvest, and relating patterns of mite growth to honey yield. Mite populations grew in an exponential fashion during the spring-to-honey-yield period of 24 wks. Spring mite density strongly predicted seasonal honey yield losses. Each additional mite/100 bees was predicted to reduce yield by ∼2.29 kg. Colonies with >3 mites/100 bees produced ∼40% less honey. Colony strength also influenced honey production. More brood frames significantly increased yield, while increasing numbers of adult bee frames showed a nonsignificant positive trend. Honey production was highly variable. After controlling for apiary effects, spring mite density explained only 4.7% of yield variation, indicating multiple drivers and influences on honey production. Nevertheless, early-season mite infestation rates are actionable predictors of honey yield. To avoid yield losses, we suggest keeping spring Varroa densities below 3 mites/100 bees and a spring action threshold of 2 mites/100 bees, consistent with Canadian research on honey yield losses.

Saving a species, one mite at a time: efficacy of afoxolaner (NexGard\xae) against Macronyssidae mites in the critically endangered Aeolian wall lizard (Podarcis raffonei)

Optimizing trophic interactions within factitious prey chains is critical for the sustainable mass production of biological control agents. We investigated the developmental and demographic performance of Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) when fed on four storage mite species, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Acari: Acaridae), Carpoglyphus lactis L. (Acari: Carpoglyphidae), Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank) (Acari: Glycyphagidae), Rhizoglyphus robini Claparede (Acari: Acaridae), and a mixed-prey treatment (equal ratio of C. lactis and L. destructor). Additionally, a previously optimized dry diet, composed of wheat bran, baker's yeast, dog food, cat food, mixed pollen, and a vitamin supplement, was directly offered to A. swirskii to assess its suitability as a non-prey artificial diet. Life table parameters were quantified under controlled laboratory conditions, and two prey treatments representing contrasting performance levels among those supporting complete development were further evaluated across 20 consecutive predator generations to assess demographic stability. Among the prey treatments, C. lactis supported the highest intrinsic rate of increase (r), net reproductive rate (R0), and fecundity, maintaining consistent demographic performance. Although T. putrescentiae was the least favorable prey among those permitting full development, it still supported population persistence, whereas R. robini failed to sustain survival beyond the protonymphal stage. Mixed-prey treatment did not enhance predator performance compared to C. lactis alone. Direct feeding on the dry diet resulted in reduced demographic performance compared to prey-based diets. The findings demonstrate that prey identity strongly influences both short-term and long-term performance, and that carefully selected astigmatid prey, particularly C. lactis can improve the efficiency of A. swirskii mass-rearing system.

Host ecology shapes chigger mite parasitism on wild, captive, and domestic birds across Malaysia and Thailand

Research note: Spatial and temporal distribution of poultry red mite infestations in non-caged barn and free-range laying hen systems.

Sustainable and cost-efficient alternatives to conventional pest management are needed. Seed priming, which enhances plants response to stress, offers a promising solution. We previously demonstrated that seed priming with methyl jasmonate (MeJA) or salicylic acid (SA) increases resistance to pests without growth penalties in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we investigate whether these benefits extend to the crop Brassica rapa and whether underlying mechanisms are conserved. In both plant species, MeJA and SA enhanced resistance to the generalist mite Tetranychus urticae and the specialist caterpillar Pieris brassicae, without compromising growth. Based on its comparatively greater effects, MeJA was selected for molecular analyses. Transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling revealed conserved co-expression networks but limited overlap in specific genes and metabolites. Additionally, the magnitude and direction of MeJA priming varied with both plant and herbivore species, revealing strong plant-pest interaction effects. In B. rapa, seed priming promoted SA accumulation under mite infestation and glucosinolate pathway activation under caterpillar feeding. Overall, we observed that phenotypic benefits were broadly conserved across Brassicaceae, but its molecular bases were shaped by plant species and pest identity, as well as context-specific interactions. This comparative study underscores the potential of tailoring priming strategies to crop species for sustainable pest management.

Early detection of spider mite emergence is highly challenging due to the lack of visible symptoms and subtle physiological changes. To address the rapid monitoring of pest mite damage, this study provided a method based on hyperspectral imaging combined with a joint spatial-spectral attention (SSA) mechanism in a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) for automated detection of pest mite infections. Leaves infested with varying degrees of spider mites Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) were captured daily to obtain multi-band spectral information of hyperspectral images. After data preprocessing, the joint SSA mechanism was applied to weigh and optimise the spatial and spectral features of the images, focusing specifically on infested regions. Furthermore, the super-pixel principal component analysis method (SPCA) dimensionality reduction method was applied to reduce model complexity and enhance classification accuracy. The spatial attention module automatically adjusted the weights of critical regions in the image, ensuring the network concentrated on the infected areas, while the spectral attention module improved sensitivity to the unique spectral features of infected regions. The proposed method can significantly enhance the accuracy of identifying mite infected areas, particularly in detecting mild infections of the leaves. Compared with traditional approaches, our proposed SPCA+DCNN+SSA model achieved notableimprovements in classification accuracy and robustness, yielding the highest OA (up to 99.1% for specific severity levels) and Kappa coefficient (0.989). Importantly, it drastically reduced misclassification in the highly challenging mild infection stages.

Piercing-sucking arthropods such as the chestnut red mite (CRM) Oligonychus ununguis impair leaf tissues by extracting nutrients from mesophyll cells, thereby lowering the photosynthetic capacity and nut yield in Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima Bl.). Despite its economic significance, the metabolic mechanisms underlying chestnut responses to mite infestation remain poorly understood. Comparative leaf metabolomic analyses were conducted on four cultivars exhibiting different resistance levels to elucidate these mechanisms. The leaf chlorosis index was used to assess resistance, and three pairwise comparison groups were established accordingly. Secondary metabolomic profiling demonstrated that resistant varieties exhibited more pronounced metabolic reprogramming following infestation than susceptible cultivars. Among the secondary metabolites detected, flavonoids and phenolic acids were predominant. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis identified numerous differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) associated with flavonoid, flavonol, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways. Remarkably, 27 phenylpropanoids and flavonoids were significantly accumulated in resistant cultivars but were largely undetected or showed no substantial variation in vulnerable cultivars. These findings indicate that specific phenylpropanoids and flavonoids, along with their corresponding biosynthetic networks, are integral to the resistance of the species against infestation by chestnut red mites. This study provides a metabolic foundation for breeding mite-resistant chestnut varieties.

Tyrophagus putrescentiae, commonly referred to as the ham or cheese mite, are tiny arachnid pests that infest dry-cured hams and aged cheeses. Previous studies have indicated that propylene glycol (PG) is a safe and effective treatment for control of ham mite infestations in laboratory-scale experiments. Mixed-sex mites were inoculated on ham cubes that were dipped in PG (n = 6), while untreated ham cubes served as the control (n = 6). After incubation for 72 h at 25 ± 2°C and 70 ± 5% RH, mites from each treatment group were pooled and RNA-seq was used to characterize mite transcriptomes and check for differences in gene expression. Out of 19,199 annotated genes, approximately 64% were functionally annotated. In total, 649 genes were differentially expressed (p < 0.05, log2 fold change < - 1 or > 1) due to PG exposure, with 74 genes upregulated and 575 downregulated. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that there were 14 pathways and 21 gene ontology (GO) terms significantly over-represented in the differentially expressed genes, indicating that PG exposure affects genes involved in degradation, detoxification, glycolysis, and gluconeogenesis, and suggests that ham mites are deterred by PG, resulting in starvation and the mite's eventual death. However, the toxicity of PG from consumption has not yet been proven and requires further experimentation.

Sarcoptic mange is the clinical disease caused by the burrowing mite Sarcoptes scabiei, an obligate ectoparasitic arthropod responsible for significant morbidity in both domestic and wild animals. The aim of the study was to investigate the serological prevalence of S. scabiei var. suis in pigs raised in the intensive system in Lombardy region, one of the most suitable regions in northern Italy for intensive pig farming, and to assess the influence of variables related to farm management on the exposure to mite infestation. 219 fattening pigs and 151 sows from 23 conventional farms in Lombardy were sampled; data on farm management were collected, and a biosecurity score was determined for each farm. Blood samples were analysed using a commercial indirect ELISA Kit; generalized linear models were developed to determine the influence of production category and sanitary score on the parasite infestation. At the farm level, 65.2% (15/23) of the selected farms were positive, i.e. 90.9% of those housing sows and 40% fattening pigs. At the individual level, 43 animals (43/370, Prevalence (P%) = 11.6%) were positive to S. scabiei antibodies with higher seroprevalence values in sows (35/151, P = 23.2%) if compared to fattening pigs (8/219, P = 3.6%). A higher seroprevalence was recorded in farms with poor or moderate scores (P = 100% and P = 64.3%, respectively) if compared to those with higher sanitary score (P = 44.4%). Statistical analysis revealed that production category and biosecurity score were significantly associated with the mite infestation. Sarcoptic mange can lead to significant economic losses in pig farming; besides, the zoonotic risk for human infestation due to handling of pig or carcasses should be considered.

Early establishment of Macrolophus pygmaeus in crops depends on the availability of supplemental food. However, Ephestia kuehniella eggs are costly, and although Artemia franciscana cysts are much cheaper, they may show lower and more variable nutritional quality. We therefore evaluated seven astigmatid mite species as factitious diets for two populations of M. pygmaeus (commercial and wild). Survival, development time, adult weight, longevity, fecundity, and demographic parameters were assessed and compared with the standard E. kuehniella diet. As expected, E. kuehniella resulted in the highest biological performance in both populations. Nevertheless, several mite species supported moderate development. Acarus siro and Carpoglyphus lactis emerged as the most promising alternatives, showing relatively high survival, acceptable developmental rates, and less pronounced reductions in fecundity. The wild population showed greater tolerance to suboptimal diets, particularly when fed Lepidoglyphus destructor, suggesting population-specific nutritional responses likely linked to genetic variation. Life table analyses supported these findings. Although none of the mite species matched the nutritional quality of E. kuehniella, some represent viable and economically competitive supplemental foods capable of promoting M. pygmaeus establishment in the absence of prey. These results highlight the potential to optimize alternative diets and to develop predator strains better adapted to cost-effective food sources. © 2026 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Efficacy of neem oil (Azadirachta indica) as an antiparasitic treatment for scorpions (Androctonus bicolor) and its impact on venom production.

The Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) has reshaped the viral landscape of honey bee colonies, significantly contributing to colony mortality. In response, Varroa-resistant honey bee breeding programs have developed as a promising and sustainable long-term strategy to control Varroa mite infestations in managed colonies. These breeding programs drive the coevolution of hygienic bees and Varroa mites, however the impact of such coevolution on bee and mite viral dynamics remains poorly understood. To address this gap, we investigated how Varroa-resistant traits influence the tripartite interaction among honey bees, Varroa mites, and viruses. Two apiaries were established: one in Greensboro, North Carolina, consisting of high and low UBeeO colonies, and another in Stoneville, Mississippi, consisting of Pol-line and Commercial colonies. Worker bees and Varroa mites were collected from each colony throughout the beekeeping season and screened for 7 viruses. Hygienic selection significantly reduced the Varroa mite infestation level and influenced the dynamics of viruses in worker bees and Varroa mites. Specifically, titers of Varroa-associated viruses were significantly reduced in worker bees and in mites collected from hygienic colonies. Additionally, hygienic selection altered the co-occurrence patterns and correlations among multiple critically important viruses in mites and worker bees. These findings highlight the value of selective breeding as an effective strategy for improving honey bee health and colony survival and shed light on the complex tripartite relationships between honey bees, Varroa mites, and viruses.

Microbial communities and wing variation associated with ectoparasitic mites in medically important Mansonia mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from coconut plantation habitats in central Thailand.

The experiment was conducted at the Horticulture Farm, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from April 2025 to September 2025 to evaluate the effect of neem oil, garlic–chili, and aloe vera-based organic sprays on Tetranychid mite suppression and yield performance of yard-long bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis). The experiment consisted of four treatments namely; T1: Neem oil (5 ml/L + 1 tbsp soap/L); T2: Garlic–chili extract (10 garlic cloves + 5 g chili powder/L); T3: Aloe vera + soap solution (2 tbsp gel + 1 tbsp soap/L); and T4: Control (water spray). The single factor experiment was laid out in a Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Significant variation of growth, yield, and mite infestation was found among the treatments. The results showed that T3 (Aloe vera + soap solution) and T2 (Garlic–chili extract) more prominently enhanced vegetative growth, SPAD value, and yield attributes. Among all the parameters of growth and yield performance, the tallest plant (212 cm) and maximum leaf number (19.0) were observed in T1 (Neem oil) at 55 DAS, maximum branch number (8) was observed in T2 (Garlic–chili extract) at 55 DAS, maximum SPAD value (86.8), maximum leaf area (247.5 cm²), highest single pod weight (21.3 g), maximum pod number (60.7), maximum yield/plant (1266 g), maximum yield/plot (31.9 kg) and maximum calculated yield/ha (84.7 t/ha) were found in T3 (Aloe vera + soap solution). While shortest plant (25.0 cm), minimum leaf number (6.0), minimum branch number (1.0), minimum SPAD value (42.3), minimum leaf area (123.5 cm²), minimum single pod weight (8.7 g), minimum pod number (21.3), minimum yield/plant (128.3 g), lowest yield/plot (3.4 kg), lowest yield/ha (9.6 t/ha) with the highest mite infestation score (5) was found in T4 (Control). Therefore, it can be concluded that T3 (Aloe vera + soap solution) is an effective organic spray that has the potential to suppress mites, improve plant health, and significantly increase the yield of yard-long bean.

Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) play crucial roles in various physiological processes in arthropods and are considered promising targets for pest control. However, their functions and potential as vaccine candidates against Dermanyssus gallinae, a notorious hematophagous poultry pest, remain unexplored. This study aims to characterize a newly identified FABP in D. gallinae (designated as DgFABP), elucidate its physiological roles, and evaluate its potential as a candidate vaccine antigen. The DgFABP was localized in the testes, synganglion, cuticle, and midgut of male mites. RNA interference (RNAi) silencing of DgFABP significantly increased mortality in adult males (by 13.3%) and male deutonymphs (by 34.7%), while reducing the latter molting rate by 11.6%. Notably, the mating rate of individual males decreased by 60.0%, which consequently led to a significant reduction in the oviposition rate of the female in freely mating assays. Recombinant DgFABP (rDgFABP) induced strong antibody responses in chicks. This immune response resulted in a significant increase in the mortality rates of both male and female deutonymphs. Most importantly, the lowest oviposition rate (35.98 ± 2.13%) was observed when virgin females fed on immunized birds were mated with males who had fed on immunized chicks as deutonymphs. DgFABP is critical for the survival, molting, and reproductive success of D. gallinae. The significant reduction in reproductive ability and increased mite mortality following immunization highlights the strong potential of rDgFABP as a novel vaccine candidate for the sustainable control of poultry red mite infestations. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Spider mites (Oligonychus trichardti) are emerging as a major constraint to Urochloa forage productivity in East Africa; however, knowledge of genotypic variation and tolerance remains limited. Herein, 55 Urochloa genotypes were evaluated under field-infested and non-infested conditions across two seasons using an alpha-lattice design. Agronomic and physiological traits, including plant height (PH), tiller number (TN), the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), total dry weight (TDW), and mite damage indices (visual severity index (VSI) and stress tolerance index (STI)) were assessed. Infestation reduced biomass by 22.4% on average, with reductions of up to 45% in susceptible genotypes. Significant genotypic variation was detected for PH, TN, TDW, and VSI. Heritability estimates under mite infestation were moderate to high for all traits except TDW, suggesting that direct selection of these traits could be effective in breeding programs aimed at improving mite resistance. VSI showed a strong negative correlation with NDVI (r = -0.63), supporting its value as a phenotyping indicator of spider mite response. Additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) analysis revealed significant genotype × environment interactions for TDW. The AMMI biplot identified Xaraes, ILRI_13369, and ILRI_14787 as high-yielding and stable genotypes, while the AMMI Stability Value (ASV) and the Weighted Average of Absolute Scores from the Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (WAASB) identified CIAT_16122, CIAT_664, ILRI_14801, ILRI_14787, and ILRI_13266 as the most stable and broadly adapted across environments. STI further highlighted ILRI_13751 (2.71) and ILRI_13531 (2.58) as highly tolerant under stress. Overall, the study reveals substantial exploitable genetic diversity and identifies stable, high-yielding, and mite-tolerant genotypes suitable for breeding to improve Urochloa productivity in East Africa.

The relationship between infestation level and the welfare of cage-free laying hens experimentally infested with northern fowl mites

Collective versus individual amitraz treatments shape Varroa destructor infestation and viral load dynamics in honeybee colonies.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are important ecological and agricultural pollinators. In the United States, beekeepers experience substantial annual colony losses, largely driven by parasites such as the mite Varroa destructor. We studied a Californian hybrid honey bee population in Southern California, a genetic mix of Western European, Eastern European, Middle Eastern, and African lineages. We predicted that these bees would show lower mite infestation levels because they survive and persist without human intervention. To test this, we monitored 236 colonies over a four-year period. We found that Californian hybrid honey bee colonies consistently had lower mite infestation rates compared to colonies headed by queens from a commercial stock. Consequently, they exceeded standard treatment thresholds (≥ 3 mites per 100 worker bees) less frequently and therefore received fewer miticide treatments. We then conducted laboratory-based-choice assays to test whether colony-level differences were reflected at the brood level. Mites were significantly less attracted to seven-day-old larvae of the Californian hybrid genotype compared to commercial larvae, indicating reduced brood attractiveness. Together, our findings indicate that this Californian hybrid population experiences lower Varroa burdens under field conditions and exhibits reduced brood attractiveness to mites under controlled laboratory conditions. This population represents a valuable resource for investigating ecological, genetic, and behavioral mechanisms underlying host resistance.