Phoresy and Mites: More Than Just a Free Ride

Abstract

Mites are masters at attaching to larger animals, often insects, in a temporary symbiosis called phoresy that allows these tiny animals to exploit patchy resources. In this article, we examine phoresy in the Acari, including those that feed on their carriers in transit, from a broad perspective. From a phylogenetic perspective, phoresy has evolved several times from free-living ancestors but also has been lost frequently. Rotting logs appear to be the first patchy resource exploited by phoretic mites, but the evolution of rapid life cycles later permitted exploitation of short-lived resources. As phoresy is a temporary symbiosis, most species have off-host interactions with their carrier. These relationships can be highly complex and context dependent but often are exploitative of the carrier's resources or progeny. Transitions from phoresy to parasitism seem widespread, but evidence for transitions from obligate phoretic parasitism to permanent parasitism is weak. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Entomology, Volume 68 is January 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Body size‐dependent effects on the distribution patterns of phoretic mite species assemblages on Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790)

“…Other groups, such as the deutonymphs of Parasitidae or phoretic adult Mesostigmata, hold on with little more than pad-like ambulacra or by grasping setae with their chelicerae (Bajerlein et al, 2013;Seeman & Walter, 2023).…”

Body size-dependent effects on the distribution patterns of phoretic mites of the multi-symbiontRhynchophorus ferrugineus(Olivier, 1790) host

“…This behaviour might be important to avoid exclusion by the dominant taxon, as coexistence of ecologically closely related species is possible if interspecific interference is not more important than intraspecific competition (den Boer, 1986; Ives, 1991). Nevertheless, aggregated distributions are also characteristic of parasites (Goater et al, 2014), and given the documented cases of transition from commensalism to antagonism in phoretic mites (Houck & Cohen, 1995; Seeman & Walter, 2023), there is a possibility that these taxa have a different relationship with RPW than phoresis, which needs further experimental verification.…”

“…RPW has been described to carry phoretic deutonymph mites (Astigmata, Mesostigmata) on its body (Wisniewski et al, 1992; Longo & Ragusa, 2006; Mesbah et al, 2008; Porcelli et al, 2009; El-Sharabasy, 2010; Mazza et al, 2011; Al-Deeb et al, 2011; Al-Dhafar & Al-Qahtani, 2012; Allam et al, 2013; Dilipkumar et al, 2015; Farahani et al, 2016; Slimane-Kharrat & Ouali, 2019; Abolafia & Ruiz-Cuenca, 2020). This form of temporary symbiotic relationship between mites (phoronts) and the weevil (host) ensures the dispersal of the former (Seeman & Walter, 2023). Some phoretic mite species have specialised, stalk-like temporary structures for attachment, such as the anal pedicel secreted by perianal glands (Bajerlein et al, 2013).…”

Phoretic mite assemblage of the pinyon pine beetle, Ips confusus (Curculionidae: Scolytinae), in Arizona

“…A phoretic relationship is one in which one organism uses another primarily for transport, with typically no other direct interactions (Evans andProctor 1999, Seeman andWalter 2022). The pinyon pine engraver, similar to many other bark beetles, is associated with a broad assemblage of mites (Kinn and Witcosky 1978, Hofstetter et al 2013, 2015.…”

“…As beetles enter the bark and phloem of a tree, mites detach from beetles (Pfammatter et al 2016b) and colonize the beetle galleries and surrounding tissues Hofstetter 2011, Hofstetter et al 2015). The life history and feeding ecology of bark beetle-associated mites vary across mite species and even life stages and includes fungivores; detritivores; omnivores; predators of mites, nematodes or insects; parasites and parasitoids (Lindquist 1970, Walter and Proctor 1999, Seeman and Walter 2022. The symbiotic relationships between mites and their hosts can vary from beneficial to detrimental; however, our knowledge of the exact nature of these relationships is largely incomplete (Hofstetter et al 2015).…”