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Candidate predators for biological control of the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae

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Control of Poultry Mites (Dermanyssus)

Abstract

The poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae, is currently a significant pest in the poultry industry in Europe. Biological control by the introduction of predatory mites is one of the various options for controlling poultry red mites. Here, we present the first results of an attempt to identify potential predators by surveying the mite fauna of European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) nests, by assessing their ability to feed on poultry red mites and by testing for their inability to extract blood from bird hosts, i.e., newly hatched, young starlings and chickens. Two genuine predators of poultry red mites are identified: Hypoaspis aculeifer and Androlaelaps casalis. A review of the literature shows that some authors suspected the latter species to parasitize on the blood of birds and mammals, but they did not provide experimental evidence for these feeding habits and/or overlooked published evidence showing the reverse. We advocate careful analysis of the trophic structure of arthropods inhabiting bird nests as a basis for identifying candidate predators for control of poultry red mites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section Population Biology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 320, 1098 SM, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Izabela Lesna & Maurice W. Sabelis

  2. Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecology and Evolution, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 14, 9750 AA, Haren, The Netherlands

    Izabela Lesna, Peter Wolfs & Jan Komdeur

  3. MITOX Trial Management BV, P.O. box 92260, 1090 AG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Farid Faraji

  4. Laboratoire de Parasitologie et Maladies Parasitaires, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Lyon, Marcy l’Etoile, France

    Lise Roy

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  1. Izabela Lesna
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  2. Peter Wolfs
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  3. Farid Faraji
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  4. Lise Roy
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  5. Jan Komdeur
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  6. Maurice W. Sabelis
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Correspondence to Izabela Lesna .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK

    Olivier A. E. Sparagano

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Lesna, I., Wolfs, P., Faraji, F., Roy, L., Komdeur, J., Sabelis, M.W. (2009). Candidate predators for biological control of the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae . In: Sparagano, O.A.E. (eds) Control of Poultry Mites (Dermanyssus). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2731-3_8

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