Summary
Behavioral observations, preference tests, and physiological studies show thatProctolaelaps nauphoetae, an ectoparasitic mite, bases its choice of host on chemical information. Behavioral observations characterized searching patterns used to detect chemical cues. Preference tests showed that mites are attracted by three kinds of chemical cues: general cues — feces and detritus, apposite cues — cockroach expectorants, and a host-specific cue. This last cue, nauphoetamine, was isolated by gel filtration and high voltage paper electrophoresis. Preliminary analysis shows that it is a macromolecular amine (mw = 1,500–6,500) and may be a glycosaminoglycan. Electrophysiological experiments showed that nauphoetamine is detected by contact chemoreceptors located on the tarsi of the first pair of legs; these records are the first reported for a mite. The process of host discrimination is discussed in terms of a general model first proposed for hymenopteran parasites.
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This research effort profitted from the several contributions of Abby Shapiro, Robert Barth, Frank Hanson, G. Barrie Kitto, Rudy Morales, Ted Hollingsworth, E.E. Lindquist, K.P. Bland, Bill Clavert, A. Gelperin, USPHS Grant No. GM 00386-07, and the faculty and staff of the Zoology Department at the University of Texas. All are greatfully acknowledged. Figures 10 and 13 are used with the permission ofNature.
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Egan, M.E. The chemosensory bases of host discrimination in a parasitic mite. J. Comp. Physiol. 109, 69–89 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00663436
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00663436