Locustacarus buchneri is a parasitic mite that lives in the respiratory air sacs of bumblebees.[2] They are relatively host-specific and are found primarily in the subgenus Bombus sensu stricto. Bees infested with the mite have a reduced lifespan in laboratory conditions,[3] and although in one study they foraged at a rate similar to uninfected bees, infected bees showed a greater preference for a single flower type.[4] Prevalence varies, but infection appears to be more common among commercial colonies than wild populations. Among colonies commercially imported from the Netherlands and Belgium to Japan, infestation rates were 20%.[5] In South America, prevalence is very low in native populations.[6] In Canada, there was evidence that commercial bumblebee populations were spreading L. buchneri to wild populations.[7]

Locustacarus buchneri
Scientific classification
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L. buchneri
Binomial name
Locustacarus buchneri
(Stammer, 1951)
Synonyms [1]

Bombacarus buchneri Stammer, 1951

References edit

  1. ^ Robert W. Husband & Kazuyoshi Kurosa (2000). "Two new genera and a new species of mites (Acari: Podapolipidae) associated with weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Argentina". International Journal of Acarology. 26 (3): 247–255. doi:10.1080/01647950008684196.
  2. ^ Goulson, Dave (2010). Bumblebees: Behaviour, Ecology, and Conservation (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-19-955306-8.
  3. ^ Otterstatter, Michael Christopher; Whidden, Troy Lorne (2004-07-01). "Patterns of parasitism by tracheal mites (Locustacarus buchneri) in natural bumble bee populations" (PDF). Apidologie. 35 (4): 351–357. doi:10.1051/apido:2004024. ISSN 0044-8435.
  4. ^ Otterstatter, Michael C.; Gegear, Robert J.; Colla, Sheila R.; Thomson, James D. (2005-08-01). "Effects of parasitic mites and protozoa on the flower constancy and foraging rate of bumble bees". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 58 (4): 383–389. doi:10.1007/s00265-005-0945-3. ISSN 0340-5443.
  5. ^ 公一, 五箇; 貴美子, 岡部; 里美, 丹羽; 昌浩, 米田 (2000-01-01). "輸入されたセイヨウオオマルハナバチのコロニーより検出された内部奇生性ダニとその感染状況". 日本応用動物昆虫学会誌. 44 (1): 47–50. doi:10.1303/jjaez.2000.47.
  6. ^ Plischuk, Santiago; Pocco, Martina E.; Lange, Carlos E. (2013). "The tracheal mite Locustacarus buchneri in South American native bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)". Parasitology International. 62 (6): 505–507. doi:10.1016/j.parint.2013.07.006. hdl:11336/10238. PMID 23872435.
  7. ^ Colla, Sheila R.; Otterstatter, Michael C.; Gegear, Robert J.; Thomson, James D. (2006-05-01). "Plight of the bumble bee: Pathogen spillover from commercial to wild populations". Biological Conservation. 129 (4): 461–467. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2005.11.013.