Blattisociidae is a family of

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear e ...

s in the order

Mesostigmata Mesostigmata is an order of mites belonging to the Parasitiformes. They are by far the largest group of Parasitiformes, with over 8,000 species in 130 families. Mesostigmata includes parasitic as well as free-living and predatory forms. They can ...

Description

Blattisociidae are mites with the following features: dorsal shield entire or laterally incised and with 18-43 pairs of setae; female with usually more than four pairs of marginal

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for " bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. ...

on soft cuticle; palptarsal apotele two-tined; fixed cheliceral digit with setiform pilus dentilis; peritreme usually extending from stigma at least to level of s2, and fused anteriorly with dorsal shield and broadly fused with exopodal shield beside coxa IV (except in ''Fungiseius clavulisetis''); female spermathecal apparatus of the phytoseiid-type (except in ''Zercoseius''); male spermatodactyl at least as long as movable cheliceral digit. Mites of this family resemble those in

Ascidae Ascidae is a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata. Description Ascidae are mites characterised by: seta ''st4'' usually on unsclerotised cuticle, peritrematic shield broadly connected to exopodal shield beside coxa IV, fixed cheliceral ...

and Melicharidae, and historically these three families were all grouped together as Ascidae.

Ecology

Blattisociidae in general are predators and fungivores, with some parasitic species. They occur in various habitats including humus, stored foods, insect nests, flowers and fungi. Blattisociidae are known to engage in

phoresis Phoresis or phoresy is a non-permanent, commensalistic interaction in which one organism (a phoront or phoretic) attaches itself to another (the host) solely for the purpose of travel. Phoresis has been observed directly in ticks and mites s ...

: attaching to larger animals to be carried to new habitats. ''Krantzoseius walteri'' adults live beneath the

elytra An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...

of carabid beetles, ''Cheiroseius'' are phoretic on crane flies, and blattisociids associated with tropical flowers use

hummingbirds Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

Zoogeography

The highest numbers of Blattisociidae species and of endemic species occur in the Neotropical region (

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

), while the highest numbers of genera and of endemic genera occur in the Panamanian region (

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and Caribbean islands). The family may have originated in one of these two neighbouring regions.

Genera

As of 2016, this family contains the following 14 genera: * '' Aceodromus'' Muma * ''

Adhaerenseius ''Adhaerenseius'' is a genus of mites in the family Ascidae Ascidae is a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata. Description Ascidae are mites characterised by: seta ''st4'' usually on unsclerotised cuticle, peritrematic shield broadly ...

'' Loots & Theron * ''

Arrhenoseius ''Arrhenoseius'' is a genus of mites in the family Ascidae Ascidae is a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata. Description Ascidae are mites characterised by: seta ''st4'' usually on unsclerotised cuticle, peritrematic shield broadly c ...

'' Walter & Lindquist * '' Blattisocius'' Keegan * ''

Cheiroseiulus ''Cheiroseiulus'' is a genus of mites in the family Ascidae Ascidae is a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata. Description Ascidae are mites characterised by: seta ''st4'' usually on unsclerotised cuticle, peritrematic shield broadly ...

'' Evans & Baker * '' Cheiroseius'' Berlese * '' Discoseius'' Lindquist & Moraza * '' Fungiseius'' Moraza & Lindquist * '' Hoploseius'' Berlese * '' Krantzoseius'' Seeman * '' Lasioseius'' Berlese * '' Opilioseius'' Lindquist & Moraza * '' Platyseius'' Berlese * '' Zercoseius'' Berlese

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q21225636 Mesostigmata Acari families