Nodele (Aztecocheyletus) conquistador, phoretic females, on propodeum of Aztecanthidium tenochtitlanicum, Mexico, BMOC 03-1003-043 title=
Fig. 1. Nodele (Aztecocheyletus) conquistador, phoretic females, on propodeum of Aztecanthidium tenochtitlanicum, Mexico, BMOC 03-1003-043. Click to enlarge

Bee Mites : Acari : Acariformes : Trombidiformes : Cheyletidae

 
Genus Nodele  Muma, 1964


Nodele Muma, 1964: 252 (type species Nodele calamondin Muma, 1964 by original designation); Volgin, 1969: 161; Fain and Bochkov, 2001a: 54.
Neocheletophyes Volgin, 1965: 296 (type species Cheletophyes philippinensis Baker, 1949 by original designation). Synonymized Volgin, 1969.
Cheletophyes: Baker, 1949: 287 (part.).


Type speices Nodele calamondin Muma, 1964


Material (show database records).

General Description. This genus includes five species collected from forest litter, under bark, on bostrichid beetles, galleries of bark beetles, nest of sparrow (Passer), and grain in the Holarctic, Oriental, and Afrotropic realms (Fain and Bochkov, 2001a, Kuznetsov, 1977; Thewke and Enns, 1968; Wafa and Soliman, 1968).
Biology is only known for Nodele calamondin. It is a predator of other mite species and of small insect larvae. Unmated females produced only male offspring (arrhenotoky), which subsequently mated with their mothers to produce female as well as male offspring. Like other representatives of the family, males have one nymphal stage in their development and females have two nymphal stages. Males guarded the quiescent deutonymph females and mating took place as soon as the females emerged as adults. Unmated females lived more than twice as long as mated females and laid about 89% of the number of eggs laid by their mated sisters. The average duration of a generation was 62 days at 25 degrees C and 34 days at 29.5 degrees C. Net reproduction rate (ratio of female births in two successive generations) was 20 at 25 degrees C and 34 and 29.5 degrees C (after Barker, 1992). There is a single record of three females of Nodele (Aztecocheyletus) conquistador collected from the propodeum of the megachilid bee Aztecanthidium tenochtitlanicum (Bochkov & Klimov, 2004).

Distribution (show map).

Species associated with bees


References
Baker, E. W. 1949. A review of the mites of the family Cheyletidae in the United States National Museum. Proceedings of the United States National Museum.99: 267-320.
Barker, P. S. 1992. Bionomics of Nodele calamondin Muma (Acarina, Cheyletidae) fed on Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank) (Acarina, Glycyphagidae) at two constant temperatures. Canadian Journal of Zoology.70: 2333-2337.
Bochkov, A. V. & P. B. Klimov. 2004. A new predaceous mite, Nodele (Aztecocheyletus) conquistador subg. n., sp n. (Acari: Cheyletidae), phoretic on a bee Aztecanthidium tenochtitlanicum (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Acarina.12: 23-27.
Fain, A. & A. V. Bochkov. 2001. A review of some genera of cheyletid mites (Acari: Prostigmata) with descriptions of new species. Acarina.9: 47-95.
Kuznetsov, N. N. 1977. [Cheyletid mites (Acariformes, Cheyletidae) of Crimea]. Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie.56: 923-928 [in Russian, translated: Kuznetzov N. N. 1977(1978). The cheyletid mites (Acariformes: Cheyletidae) of the Crimea. Entomological Review. 77(4): 149-152.].
Muma, M. H. 1964. Cheyletidae (Acarina: Trombidiformes) associated with Citrus in Florida. The Florida Entomologist.47: 239-253.
Thewke, S. E. & W. R. Enns. 1968. A new species of predacious mite (Acarina: Cheyletidae) from galleries of bark beetles in Missouri. Acarologia.10: 215-219.
Volgin, V. I. 1965. [On the artificial nature of the genus Cheletophyes Oudms. (Acarina, Cheyletidae)]. Trudy Zoologicheskogo instituta akademii nauk SSSR.35: 288-299.
Volgin, V. I. 1969. Kleshchi semeystva Cheyletidae mirovoy fauny. Leningrad: Nauka. 432 [in Russian, English translation: Volgin V. I. 1987. Acarina of the Family Cheyletidae of the World. Amerind Publishing Co., New Delhi. 1-532]. pp.
Wafa, A. K. & Z. R. Soliman. 1968. Five genera of family Cheyletidae (Acarina) in the U.A.R. with a description of four new species. Acarologia.10: 220-229.



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Nodele (Aztecocheyletus) conquistador, phoretic females, on propodeum of Aztecanthidium tenochtitlanicum, Mexico, BMOC 03-1003-043
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B. OConnor and P. Klimov ©
Created: April 26, 2012
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