Acta Parasitologica, Vol. 50, No. 2, 2005, 171-175 Jerzy Bloszyk(1,2)*, Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz(3), Daria Bajerlein(1) and Robert B. Halliday(4) - Nests of the white stork Ciconia ciconia (L.) as a habitat
for mesostigmatic mites (Acari, Mesostigmata)
(1)Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, (2)Natural History Collections, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University,
89 Umultowska Street, 61-614 Poznan; (3)Department of Forest and Environment Protection, August Cieszkowski Agricultural University,
71C Wojska Polskiego Street, 60-625 Poznan; Poland. (4)CSIRO Entomology, GPO Box 1700, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
*Corresponding author: bloszyk@amu.edu.pl
ABSTRACT
This study was intended to define the mesostigmatic mite species that occur in the nests of the white stork, and to identify their
role in the life of their host. The results are derived from 38 samples from 12 nests, which contained a total of 13,352 individuals
and 34 species. Among the most frequent species were Macrocheles merdarius, M. robustulus, Uroobovella pyriformis and
Trichouropoda orbicularis, which represented almost 85% of all the specimens collected. There was a high frequency of
coprophilous predatory mites that feed on the eggs and larvae of insects and on nematodes, which undoubtedly affects the abundance
of these invertebrate groups in nests. Literature records and new observations suggest that phoresy on various beetles and
dipteran phoronts can be the main mode of dispersal of mites into the nests.
KEY WORDS: Mites, Acari, Mesostigmata, Ciconia ciconia, nest fauna, Poland