| Oothecae of praying mantids (Insecta: Mantodea) as new prey records for two species of prostigmatic mites (Acari: Trombidiformes) |
| Paper ID : 1177-IPCA4 (R2) |
| Authors: |
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Mojgan Sadat-Shojaei *, Zohreh Mirzaee, Saber Sadeghi Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran |
| Abstract: |
| The members of suborder Prostigmata Kramer, 1877 are a variety of terrestrial, aquatic, and marine predators, phytophages, saprophages, and parasites. Research on arthropod hosts associated with the members of this suborder is important to the discovery of probable biological interaction between these mites and other arthropods. In this survey, one recently hatched ootheca of Iris oratoria (Linnaeus, 1758) (Mantodea: Eremiaphilidae) was taken on 4 May 2021 from Dasht-e Arzhan, Fars Province, and four unhatched oothecae of a mantid genus Elaea Stal, 1877 (Mantodea: Gonipetidae) were collected in early December 2021 from Izeh, Khuzestan Province, Iran. The oothecae were preserved in separate clean bottles and transported to the research laboratory. After a few days, one mite was observed coming out of the previously hatched ootheca of Iris oratoria. Three of four oothecae of Elaea sp. hatched after five weeks and four mites got out of the rest unhatched one. Mites were preserved in 70% ethanol. For further identification, specimens were cleared in Nesbitt's fluid and mounted using Hoyer’s medium. Microscope slides are deposited in the Zoological Museum, Collection of Biology Department, Shiraz University (ZM-CBSU). Microscopic photography is performed before and after specimen clearing. Using valid keys, the mite specimens were recognized as a deutonymph of Eatoniana Cambridge, 1898 associated with oothecal cells of Iris oratoria and an adult male of Austroteneriffia Womersley, 1935 associated with oothecal cells of the genus Elaea. It seems that the recently hatched ootheca of Iris oratoria is chosen by the predator deutonymph of Eatoniana sp. as a suitable safe habitat with adequate food resources (remaining ootheca cells, some microorganisms, or small invertebrate and their eggs). Also, in probable biological interaction between Elaea sp. and Austroteneriffia sp., it seems that this species somehow penetrated into the fresh ootheca and spent one or more life stages inside it. After feeding on mantid eggs, predatory adults go out from the unhatched ootheca. |
| Keywords: |
| Austroteneriffia, biological interaction, Eatoniana, Eremiaphilidae, Gonipetidae, Prostigmata. |
| Status : Abstract Accepted (Poster Presentation) |
