Australian Biological Resources Study

Australian Faunal Directory

Family TARSONEMIDAE Canestrini & Fanzago, 1877

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Family TARSONEMIDAE Canestrini & Fanzago, 1877

Introduction

The known Australian fauna of Tarsonemidae is limited to only 19 species in 13 genera. The family has never been the subject of a systematic study, and many unidentified species have been collected. Examples include species of Steneotarsonemus (Colloff et al. 1991) and Tarsonemus (Richards 1971; Lowry 1980; O'Dowd 1994; Colloff et al. 1991; Walter 1995; Noble et al. 1996; Walter et al. 2002; Kinnear & Tongway 2004). Incompletely identified species also include Tarsonemus sp. near waitei (Walter & O'Dowd 1992), Tarsonemus waitei group (Frost & Bailey 1997) and Tarsonemus sp. nov. cf confusus (Womersley 1955). Many authors have reported Australian Tarsonemidae identified only to the family level, including Walter et al. (1994), Tovey et al. (1975), Conroy et al. (1966), Heatwole et al. (1981), Osler et al. (2000), Adolphson & Kinnear (2008), Hodgkin et al (2010), Proctor et al. (2011), Majer et al. (2013) and Yousuf et al. (2014). Their biology and behaviour are very diverse. Many species appear to be fungivorous, but others are economically important pests of crop plants (Walter et al. 2009). Lin & Zhang (2002) prepared a comprehensive catalogue and bibliography of Tarsonemidae, including data on 529 species, which should be consulted for more details.

The honeybee tracheal mite Acarapis woodi does not occur in Australia. Brimblecombe & Roff (1960, 1961) recorded Acarapis woodi in Queensland quarantine, on bees imported from California. The identity of these mites is uncertain, but it appears unlikely that they were actually A. woodi. Banks & Korthals (1961) suggested they were either A. externus or A. dorsalis. Schicha & Loudon (1980) recorded the first confirmed quarantine interception of A. woodi in Australia, and Walter et al. (2002) also recorded this quarantine interception. Acarapis woodi has never been recorded in Australia outside of quarantine, and was wrongly recorded from Australia by Lin & Zhang (2002).

 

General References

Adolphson, H. & Kinnear, A. 2008. Acari (mite) assemblages under plantations of bluegum, Eucalyptus globulus, in southwestern Australia. Pedobiologia 51: 427–437

Banks, A.W. & Korthals, A. 1961. Mites of the genus Acarapis on bees in South Australia. Australian Veterinary Journal 37: 397-398

Brimblecombe, A.R. & Roff, C. 1960. Mites associated with honeybees in Queensland. Queensland Journal of Agricultural Science 17: 447-448

Brimblecombe, A.R. & Roff, C. 1961. Distribution of Acarapis woodi (Rennie). Nature 190(4775): 561 (as Acarapis woodi)

Colloff, M.J., Stewart, G.A. & Thompson, P.J. 1991. House dust acarofauna and Der p I equivalent in Australia : the relative importance of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Euroglyphus maynei. Clinical and Experimental Allergy 21: 225-230

Conroy, R.J., Darley, E.C. & Shanahan, G.J. 1966. Mushroom Culture. NSW Department of Agriculture Bulletin 17: 1-64

Frost, W.E. & Bailey, P. 1997. Identifying Mites on Inland Australian Citrus. A Colour Guide for Growers, Packers and Quarantine Staff. South Australian Research and Development Institute, Adelaide. 8 pp.

Heatwole, H., Done, T. & Cameron, E. 1981. Community Ecology of a Coral Cay: A study of One-Tree Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The Hague : W. Junk 379 pp.

Hodgkin, L.K., Elgar, M.A. & Symonds, M.R.E. 2010. Positive and negative effects of phoretic mites on the reproductive output of an invasive bark beetle. Australian Journal of Zoology 58: 198–204

Kinnear, A. & Tongway, D. 2004. Grazing impacts on soil mites of semi-arid chenopod shrublands in Western Australia. Journal of Arid Environments 56: 63–82

Lin, J. & Zhang, Z.-Q. 2002. Tarsonemidae of the World. Key to Genera, Geographical Distribution, Systematic Catalogue & Annotated Bibliography. London : Systematic & Applied Acarology Society pp. 440.

Lowry, J.W.J. 1980. Ecological Relationships of Western Australian Cavernicoles. MSc. Thesis, School of Zoology, University of New South Wales. Vol. 1 367 pp., Vol. 2 204 pp. + appendices

Majer, J.D., Callan, S.K., Edwards, K., Gunawardene, N.R. & Taylor, C.K. 2013. Baseline survey of the terrestrial invertebrate fauna of Barrow Island. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 83: 13-112.

Noble, J.C., Whitford, W.G. & Kaliszewski, M. 1996. Soil and litter microarthropod populations from two contrasting ecosystems in semi-arid eastern Australia. Journal of Arid Environments 32: 329-346

O'Dowd, D.J. 1994. Mite association with the leaf domatia of coffee (Coffea arabica) in north Queensland, Australia. Bulletin of Entomological Research 84: 361-366

Osler, G.H.R., van Vliet, P.C.J., Gauci, C.S. & Abbott, L.K. 2000. Changes in free living soil nematode and micro-arthropod communities under a canola-wheat-lupin rotation in Western Australia. Australian Journal of Soil Research 38: 47–59

Proctor, H., Kanowski, J., Catterall, C.P., Wardell-Johnson, G. & Reis, T. 2011. Rainforest-restoration success as judged by assemblages of soil- and litter-dwelling mites (Arachnida: Acari). Zoosymposia 6: 234–254

Richards, A.M. 1971. An ecological study of the cavernicolous fauna of the Nullarbor Plain southern Australia. Journal of Zoology, London 164: 1-60 pls I-V

Schicha, E. & Loudon, B. 1980. The first quarantine interception of Isle of Wight Disease in New South Wales. Australasian Beekeeper 82: 31-33

Tovey, E.R., Guinan, J.E. & Vandenberg, R.A. 1975. Mite populations in Sydney household bedding with particular reference to nursery sheepskins. Medical Journal of Australia 1975(2): 770-772

Walter, D.E. 1995. Dancing on the head of a pin: mites in the rainforest canopy. pp. 49-53 in M.S. Harvey (ed.). Australasian Spiders and their Relatives: Papers Honouring Barbara York Main. Records of the Western Australian Museum 52(Supplement)

Walter, D.E., Beard, J.J., Walker, K.L. & Sparks, K. 2002. Of mites and bees: A review of mite-bee associations in Australia and a revision of Raymentia Womersley (Acari: Mesostigmata: Laelapidae), with the description of two new species of mites from Lasioglossum (Paraspechodes) spp. (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Australian Journal of Entomology 41: 128-148

Walter, D.E., O'Dowd, D. & Barnes, V. 1994. The forgotten arthropods: Foliar mites in the forest canopy. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 36: 221-226

Walter, D.E. & O'Dowd, D.J. 1992. Leaves with domatia have more mites. Ecology 73: 1514-1518

Womersley, H. 1955. The acarina fauna of mutton birds' nests on a Bass Strait Island. Australian Journal of Zoology 3: 412-438

Yousuf, F., Gurr, G., Carnegie, A.J., Bedding, R.A., Bashford, R. & Gitau, C. 2014. Biology of the bark beetle Ips grandicollis Eichoff (Coleoptera: Scolytinae) and its arthropod, nematode and microbial associates: a review of management opportunities from Australia. Austral Entomology 53: 298-316.

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
05-Dec-2019 Acari 20-Sep-2021 MODIFIED Dr Bruce Halliday
01-May-2017 Acari 20-Sep-2021 MODIFIED Dr Bruce Halliday
07-May-2013 20-Sep-2021 MODIFIED
29-Jul-2010 29-Jul-2010 MOVED
07-May-2013 09-Jul-2010 ADDED
08-Jul-2010 MODIFIED