Pneumolaelaps costai, female, ex Bombus fervidus, USA: Ohio, BMOC 02-0706-001 title=
Fig. 1. Pneumolaelaps costai, female, ex Bombus fervidus, USA: Ohio, BMOC 02-0706-001. Click to enlarge

Bee Mites : Acari : Parasitiformes : Mesostigmata : Laelapidae

 
Genus Pneumolaelaps  Berlese, 1920


Hypoaspis (Pneumolaelaps) Berlese, 1920: 151 (part) (type species Iphis bombicolens G. R. Canestrini by original designation); Evans and Till, 1966: 158; Karg, 1982: 243 (part); Karg, 1984: 35; Bregetova, 1977: 514.
Pneumolaelaps: Hunter, 1966: 357 (part.); Hunter and Husband, 1973: 77 (part.).
Qinghailaelaps Gu and Yang, 1984: 371 (type species Qinghailaelaps marmotae Gu et Yang, 1984 by original designation), synonymized by Ma, 2006


Type speices Iphis bombicolens G. R. Canestrini by original designation


Material (show database records).

General Description. Species of the genus Pneumolaelaps are common inhabitants of nests of bumblebees. They may also occasionally occur in beehives and in subterranean nests of small mammals (Bregetova, 1977; Haitlinger, 1983; Crozier, 1989). The mites may be found in great numbers in active bumblebee colonies, moving rapidly over the nest floor, nectar pots, and brood cells where they feed on nectar and pollen. Female mites become phoretic on bumblebee queens in old nests, and overwinter with the queens in sheltered sites. Feeding behavior is only known for Pneumolaelaps longanalis. This genus is known from the Holarctic, Oriental and Neotropical regions (Eguaras et al. 1997; Evans and Till, 1966; Hunter and Husband, 1973; Karg, 1982, 1984; Rosario, 1981; Royce and Krantz, 1989).
There are, at present, no comprehensive definitions of this genus. Many authors consider it as a subgenus of the genus Hypoaspis (Bregetova, 1977; Evans and Till; 1966; Karg, 1982) while others consider it as a distinct genus (Casanueva, 1993). According to Evans and Till (1966), this taxon has the following apomorphic character states: the stimata are large and peritremes broad, the opistogaster is usually hypetrichous, and there are two ventral setae on genu IV. Karg (1982) defines it based on the following characters: the idiosomal setae filiform, without extreme difference in lengths, unpaired setae frequently present on the posterior part of the dorsal shield; tectum smooth; rows of the hypognathal groove usually with 2 to 6 denticles; the epigynial shield with one pair of setae; 1-2 pairs of setae between the epigynial and anal shields. The latter concept allows the inclusion of free-living species, making the genus, in our opinion, artificial. We accept the point of view of the former authors restricting the genus only to bumblebee-associated species. With the absence of a robust phylogeny of the genusHypoaspis and proofs of the Pneumolaelaps monophyly, this is highly speculative, however.
Qinghailaelaps marmotae, the type species of the genus Qinghailaelaps Gu and Yang, 1984 has been described from Marmota himalayana (Hodgson, 1841) (Rodentia: Sciuridae); another species of this genus, Qinghailaelaps gui Bai, 1992, was found phoretic on a bumblebee (Bombus). Because the genus-level characters of Qinghailaelaps correspond to those of Pneumolaelaps, we consider the former as a junior synonym. The following new combinations are proposed: Pneumolaelaps cavicolous (Gu, Liu et Niu, 1997) from Qinghailaelaps ("cave of bird" in China); Pneumolaelaps gui (Bai, 1992), comb. n. from Qinghailaelaps; Pneumolaelaps marmotae (Gu et Yang, 1984), comb. n. from Qinghailaelaps; Pneumolaelaps qinghaiensis (Li, Yang et Wang, 1998), comb. n. from Qinghailaelaps.

Old World species of Pneumolaelaps associated with bumble bees (Bombus spp.)
Pneumolaelaps bombicolens (Canestrini, 1884) (Poland, former USSR, England, Italy, New Zealand, China)
Pneumolaelaps breviseta (Evans and Till, 1966) (England, New Zealand)
Pneumolaelaps fuscicolens (Oudemans, 1903) (Western Europe, former USSR)
Pneumolaelaps colomboi (Evans & Till 1966) (England, Poland, former USSR)
Pneumolaelaps groenlandicus (Trägårdth, 1904) (Greenland, Russia, Canada)
Pneumolaelaps hyatti (Evans & Till, 1966) (Greenland, England, former USSR, China)
Pneumolaelaps marginepilosus (Sellnick, 1938) (England, Austria, Iceland, Poland, former USSR)
Pneumolaelaps minutissima (Evans and Till, 1966) (England)
Pneumolaelaps qinghaiensis (Li, Yang et Wang, 1998), comb. nov. from Qinghailaelaps (China, ex Bombus)

Pneumolaelaps species from non-bumblee hosts (expected to be associated with Bombus)
Pneumolaelaps cavicolous (Gu, Liu et Niu, 1997), comb. nov. from Qinghailaelaps (China, "cave of bird")
Pneumolaelaps marmotae (Gu et Yang, 1984), comb. nov. from Qinghailaelaps (China, ex Marmota himalayana (Hodgson, 1841) (Rodentia: Sciuridae))


Notes. There are different opinions on the year of the original description of Pneumolaelaps Berlese, e.g., 1920 (Vitzthum, 1930; Casanueva, 1993); 1921 (Hunter, 1966; Hunter and Husband, 1973), or 1925 (Karg, 1984). We checked the original publication and note that it has been published in 1920. The title page of the journal indicates 1921 as the publication year, while the footnote at the end of the article says "Gli estratti di questa Memoria furono pubblicati il 10 Settembre 1920".

Distribution (show map).

Species recorded in associations with bees (unidentified taxa also included)



    Key to species of the genus Pneumolaelaps from North America
    females    *
    1Posterior margin of sternal plate concave
    ... 2
    		 
    - Posterior margin of sternal plate straight or convex
    ... 6
    		 
    2(1)Dorsal plate seta j2 extending approximately to base of seta j4
    Pneumolaelaps groenlandicus
    		 
    - Seta j2 extending no more than 1/2 the distance between the bases of seta j3 and j4
    ... 3
    		 
    3(2)Seta j2 extending approximately 1/2 the distance to the base of seta j3
    Pneumolaelaps longanalis
    		 
    - Seta j2 extending to or slightly beyond the base of seta J3
    ... 4
    		 
    4(3)Dorsal seta j4 approximately 3 times longer than j5; distance between genital setae bases less than distance between sternal setae st2
    Pneumolaelaps sinhai
    		 
    - Dorsal seta j4 equal to or only slightly longer than j5; distance between bases of genital setae equal to or slightly exceeding the distance between sternal setae st2
    ... 5
    		 
    5(4)Dorsal seta j3 extending 1/2 to 2/3 of the distance to seta j4; genital plate without striation pattern
    Pneumolaelaps aequalipilus
    		 
    - Dorsal seta j3 extending almost to base of j4; genital plate with distinct striation pattern
    Pneumolaelaps patae
    		 
    6(2)Dorsal setae j2, j3, and j4 approximately equal in length; seta j4 3-4 times length of seta j5; dorsal seta Z4 and Z5 at least 4 times as long as J5; genital setae extending to posterior margin of genital plate
    Pneumolaelaps longipilus
    		 
    - Dorsal seta j4 less than 3 times length of seta j5; length of seta j2, j3, and J4 variable; setae Z4 and Z5 equal to or only slightly longer than J5; genital setae not extending to posterior margin of genital plate
    ... 7
    		 
    7(6)Dorsal seta j3 extending no more than 1/2 the distance to base of seta j4
    ... 8
    		 
    - Dorsal seta j3 and j4 extending over 1/2 the distance to base of seta j4
    ... 9
    		 
    8(7)Genital plate bearing distinct striation pattern; dorsal plate with distinct striation pattern in area of setae J1 to J3
    Pneumolaelaps connieae
    		 
    - Genital plate without striation pattern; dorsal plate without distinct striation pattern in area of setae J1 to J3
    Pneumolaelaps richardsi
    		 
    9(7)Anterior marginal dorsal setae (s and r rows) 2 or more times length of seta j6; genital seta extending 2/3 the distance between setal base and posterior margin of genital plate
    Pneumolaelaps mistipilus
    		 
    - Anterior marginal dorsal setae (s and r rows) equal to or only slightly longer than seta j6; genital seta extending no more than 1/2 the distance to posterior margin of plate
    Pneumolaelaps costai
    		 


    * modified from Hunter and Husband (1973); Pneumolaelaps hyatti (Evans & Till, 1966) was recorded from Greenland and should be included here. Pneumolaelaps cf. patae was recorded from Greenland (Makarova, 2006) and Pneumolaelaps sp was recorded from Chile (Garrido and Casanueva, 1995). The following records from honeybee hives (Apis mellifera) in the USA (El-Banhawy & Nasr, 1984) are pronably misidentifications: Pneumolaelaps bombicolens, Pneumolaelaps brevista [sic!].

    References
    Berlese, A. 1920 (1921). Centuria quinta di Acari nuovi. Redia.14: 143-195.
    Bregetova, N. G. 1977. [Family Laelaptidae]. In [Opredelitel' obytayshchikh v pochve kleshchey Mesostigmata = Identification key to soil-inhabiting mites Mesostigmata], eds. M. S. Gilarov & N. G. Bregetova, 483-554. Leningrad: Nauka.
    Casanueva, M. E. 1993. Phylogenetic studies of the free-living and arthropod associated Laelapidae (Acari: Mesostigmata). Gayana Zoologia.57: 21-46.
    Crozier, L. 1989. Melittiphis alvearius (Berlese) and other mites found in honeybee colonies in Nova Scotia. Journal of Apicultural Research.28: 166-168.
    El-Banhawy, E. M. & A. K. Nasr. 1984[1986]. Incidence of mites in bee hives in the State of New York with descriptions of two new species. Zoological Society of Egypt Bulletin.34: 76-82.
    Eguaras, M., J. Farina & P. A. Martinez. 1997. Primera cita dél genero Pneumolaelaps (Acari: Laelapidae) para la región Neotropical. Revista Sociedad Entomologica Argentina.56: 38.
    Evans, G. O. & W. M. Till. 1966. Studies on the British Dermanyssidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) Part II Classification. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology.14: 8-370.
    Garrido, C. & M. E. Casanueva. 1995. Acaros foreticos e hiperforeticos sobre Bombus dahlbohmi Guerin, 1835 (Hym., Apidae). Boletin de la Sociedad de Biologia de Concepcion.66: 53-55.
    Gu, Y.-m. & X.-z. Yang. 1984. A new genus and species of Laelaptidae from Qinghai Province (Acarina: Gamasina). Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica.9: 371-374.
    Haitlinger, R. 1983. Hirstionyssus tatricus Mrciak, 1958 and several other species of Acarina new for Polish fauna or rarely collected on mammals in Poland. Przeglad Zoologiczny.27: 323-326.
    Hunter, P. E. 1966. The genus Pneumolaelaps with description of three new species (Acarina: Laelaptidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society.39: 357-369.
    Hunter, P. E. & R. W. Husband. 1973. Pneumolaelaps (Acarina: Laelapidae) mites from North America and Greenland. The Florida Entomologist.56: 77-91.
    Karg, W. 1982. Zur Kenntnis der Raubmilbeng Hypoaspis Canestrini, 1884 (Acarina, Parasitiformes). Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin.58: 233-256.
    Karg, W. 1984. Zur Kenntnis der Untergattung Pneumolaelaps Berlese, 1925 der Raubmilbengattung Hypoaspis Canestrini, 1884 (Acarina, Parasitiformes). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift.31: 35-39.
    Li, C., X. Yang & G. Wang. 1998. A new species of Qinghailaelaps from the west of China (Acari: Laelapidae). Difangbing Tongbao.13: 60-61.
    Ma, L.-M. 2006. New synonyms of gamasid mites (Acari: Mesostigmata). Acta Arachnologica Sinica.15: 23-26.
    Makarova, O. 2006. 5.11 Mites at Zackenberg. In Zackenberg Ecological Research Operations, 11th Annual Report, 2006, eds. A. B. Klitgaard, M. Rasch & K. Caning, 100-101. Copenhagen: Danish Polar Center, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
    Rosario, R. M. T. 1981. Philippine Hypoaspidinae (Acarina: Mesostigmata: Laelapidae). Philippine Entomologist.5: 23-82.
    Royce, L. A. & G. W. Krantz. 1989. Observations on pollen processing by Pneumolaelaps longanalis (Acari, Laelapidae), a mite associate of bumblebees. Experimental & Applied Acarology.7: 161-165.



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    Pneumolaelaps costai, female, ex Bombus fervidus, USA: Ohio, BMOC 02-0706-001
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    Created: April 23, 2012
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