The diet of the parasitic mite Trichosurolaelaps crassipes Womersley, 1956 and its potential to act as a disease vector |
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Authors: | JM Clark |
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Institution: | Dudley Road East, Inglewood, New Zealand |
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Abstract: | Abstract The anatomy of the gaster of Trichosurolaelaps crassipes is illustrated. Protonymphs, deutonymphs and adults were all seen with a scarlet gut and gave strongly positive results to occult blood tests. Host blood cells were identified in a gut smear from a female mite. An adult female gut could hold about 7.1 × 10?6 ml. The mite was seen frequenting small open skin lesions. Gram-negative bacteria identified in the mite's gut are most likely to be endosymbionts. Mite larvae have their gastric caeca invaded bv these bacteria before birth. There is a notential for this mite to act as a weak vector of disease from one possum to another. |
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