Correlation of Habitat, Environment and Color of Chiggers, and Their Potential Significance in the Epidemiology of Scrub Typhus in Malaya (Prostigmata: Trombiculidae)1

Variation in Populations of Chigger Vectors of Scrub Typhus in Developing Oil Palm Areas of Different Ages

“…W. oudemansi usually is restricted to cavities and depressions in the ground and under overhanging roots. L. (L.) bodense, found only in Phase III, is a ground hole and ground surface dweller (Nadchatram, 1970). Although L. (L.) umbricola, a newly described species that is closely related to L. (L.) deliense, has been reported from a wide variety of animals (Nadchatram and Dohany, 1980), it was found only on two species of animals during this study.…”

“…are nidicolous in ground-burrows and on trees or live freely on the groundsurface (Nadchatram, 1970). W. oudemansi usually is restricted to cavities and depressions in the ground and under overhanging roots.…”

Aquatic Mites from Genes to Communities

“…These pigments can be deposited in eggs by ovipositing females. Nadchatram (1970) noted that larval chiggers (Parasitengona: Trombiculidae) reared from adults fed on a laboratory diet were often paler than larvae of the same species collected in the field. Red female copepods transfer carotenoids to their eggs and thence to their offspring, which are thereby also protected from damaging light (Chalker-Scott 1995).…”

“…During aerial searching and much of the time they spend on their hosts, these thin-skinned larvae are exposed to terrestrial light conditions. It is interesting to note that among terrestrial Trombiculidae (Parasitengona: Trombidiina), orange and red larvae run about on open ground, whereas larvae that inhabit nest holes are white or yellow (Nadchatram 1970). Likewise, larval erythraeids (Parasitengona: Erythraeina) found on diurnal opilionids are red, while those on nocturnal Orthoptera are often pale (H.P., pers.…”

Genomes of trombidid mites reveal novel predicted allergens and laterally-transferred genes associated with secondary metabolism

“…The more heavily-studied larval stages of the Trombiculoidea (commonly referred to as chiggers or berry bugs) primarily feed on terrestrial vertebrates, including humans [20], although some little-known taxa in this superfamily are ectoparasites of invertebrate hosts in common with the Trombidioidea [21-23] (Fig. 2).…”