Bee mites: Family Laelapidae: Urozercon: Urozercon robustisetus; Urozercon melittophilus; Urozercon paradoxus; Myrmozercon

Fig. 1. Mite Urozercon sp. (Laelapidae) from the singless bee Scaura latitarsis (Apidae: Meliponini). Click here to enlarge

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Genus Urozercon Berlese, 1902

Urozercon Berlese, in Berlese and Leonardi, 1902: 13 (type species Urozercon paradoxus Berlese, 1902 by monotypy); Silvestri, 1903: 172; Silvestri, 1911: 70; Silvestri, 1917: 299; Casanueva, 1993: 21.
TermitacarusTrägårdth, 1906: 875 (type species Termitacarus cuneiformis Trägårdth, 1906 by original designation) (synonymized by Silvestri, 1917); Skaife, 1955: 81.
Uronyssus Halliday, 2006: 35 (type species Uronyssus watsoni Halliday, 2006 by original designation), syn. n.
Myrmozercon (non Berlese, 1902): Rosario and Hunter, 1988: 466 (part.).

Species of Urozercon occur commonly in tropical termite nests and have been observed riding on termites and stealing food during trophallaxis (Silvestri, 1917; Skaife, 1955; Eickwort, 1990). There are eight described species from Australia, South and Central America. Urozercon paradoxus Berlese, 1902, Urozercon cuneiformis (Trägårdth, 1906), Urozercon modestus Silvestri, 1917, Urozercon robustisetus (Rosario and Hunter, 1988), comb. n. (from Myrmozercon), Urozercon milleri (Halliday, 2006) comb. n. (from Uronyssus), and Urozercon watsoni (Halliday, 2006) comb. n. (from Uronyssus) were found in nests of termites. Several species were described from meliponine and centridine bees normally constructing their nests in termitaria: Urozercon melittophilus Silvestri, 1911 was found on the stingless bee Partamona cupira (Smith, 1863) while Urozercon angustatus Silvestri, 1911, stat. n. (Urozercon melittophilus var. angustatus Silvestri, 1911) was found on "Centris thoracica Lep." (Hymenoptera: Apidae).
We collected a small series of Urozercon sp. in a nest of Scaura latitarsis (Friese, 1900) constructed inside a termite nest in Costa Rica. Silvestri (1903) reported nests of several species of Meliponini, including S. latitarsis, from nests of the termite Nasutitermes brevioculatus (Holmgren, 1910), the host of the mite Urozercon paradoxus. Current knowledge about the morphology and hosts of Urozercon is summarized in the key below.

Key to species of the genus Urozercon*
females
1. Unpaired anal seta shorter than paired anal setae ... 2
- Unpaired anal seta longer or equal to paired anal setae ... 7
2(1). Fourth pair of epigynial setae situated on separate platelets outside epigynial shield. Australia: New South Wales, ex Nasutitermes exitiosus ... Urozercon watsoni
- Fourth pair of epigynial setae situated on epigynial shield ... 3
3(2). Posterior palpal seta enlarged, about 3/4 of palpi. ex Eutermes (type host) sp., Trinervitermes trinervius. South Africa (type locality), Senegal ... Urozercon cuneiformis (after Silvestri, 1917)
- Posterior palpal seta not enlarged, shorter than half of palpi ... 4
4(3). Paired anal setae not widened, filiform. ex Amitermes evuncifer. Guinea ... Urozercon modestus
- Paired anal setae distinctly widened, stout ... 5
5(4). Unpaired anal seta slightly shorter than half of paired anal setae. ex Nasutitermes graveolus. Australia: Northern Territory ... Urozercon milleri
- Unpaired anal seta longer than half of paired anal setae ... 6
6(5). Anterior spine on femur III and IV subequal. ex Scaura latitarsis (Apidae: Meliponini). Costa Rica ... Urozercon sp.
- Anterior spine on femur III distinctly shorter that on femur IV. ex "Centris thoracica Lep." (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Brazil: Matto Grosso ... Urozercon angustatus
7(2). Unpaired anal seta equal to paired anal setae. ex Partamona cupira (Apidae: Meliponini). Brazil: Matto Grosso ... Urozercon melittophilus
- Unpaired anal seta distinctly longer than paired anal setae. ex Nasutitermes brevioculatus (Isoptera: Termitidae). Brazil: Mato Grosso ("Cingalá" in the original description) ... Urozercon paradoxus

* Urozercon robustisetus (Puero Rico, termite nest) is known from male and not included to the key.

Urozercon sp.

Material. 2 females, 1deutonymph - COSTA RICA: Puntarenas Prov., Rte. 16, N. of "Campo Dos", 800m., ex nest of Scaura latitarsis (Apidae: Meliponini) constructed in nest of Nasutitermes, 31 Dec. 1989, UMMZ BMOC 90-0101-020.
Disribution. Costa Rica.
Hosts. Scaura latitarsis (Apidae: Meliponini).

References