Zoosymposia

A survey of mite lifespans: part 3 (Cover)

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(Cover)

A survey of mite lifespans: part 3 (Table of Contents)

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Table of Contents

A survey of mite lifespans: preface to part 3

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This volume is part 3 of a series of surveys of mite lifespans and related life history data. The first part in 2021 covered the suborder Oribatida (excluding Astigmata), Winterschmidtiidae, Eriophyoidea, Tydeidae, Anystidae, Cheyletidae, and Blattisociidae (Zhang 2021). The second part (Zhang 2022) included reviews of life history data for three important families of economic importance: Tetranychidae (Li et al. 2022), Phytoseiidae (Han et al. 2022), and Laelapidae (Zhang et al. 2022). I am pleased to introduce Part 3 of this series, with three reviews for the superorder Parasitiformes: the order Ixodida, or the ticks (Chen et al. 2024), the family Parasitidae (Lewandowski & Pińkowska 2024), and the family Rhodacaridae (Momen et al. 2024). About 10% of the 960 tick species are of importance in animal and human health, and we have life history data reviewed for 12.2% of the species (Chen et al. 2024). It is noteworthy that the longest-living mite is a soft tick—Argas brumpti Neumann—which had survived for 27 years in the laboratory (Shepherd 2022).

How long do ticks live? A survey of lifespan, life cycle and longevity in Ixodida (Acari: Parasitiformes)

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Ticks are hematophagous parasites transmitting pathogens to animals and humans. This review summarizes the current understanding of their lifespan, life cycles and longevity, which is essential for preventing and controlling tick-borne diseases. As of October 2022, the lifespan, longevity, and life cycle of 117 tick species (approximately 12.2% of the world's total) from 10 genera have been recorded. Most of this data is collected in laboratory conditions, with only a few investigated in the field studies. The life cycles of 110 tick species are summarized in 150 publications, while the adult longevity of 62 species is reported in 65 publications. Data on tick lifespan is limited to 26 species documented in 18 publications. It should be noted that the lifespan of most argasid ticks is much longer (ranging from 114–861 days to 10585 days) compared to ixodid ticks (ranging from 55–114 days to 252ؘ–387 days). Also, environmental and climate changes can affect ticks' distribution and activity globally. Therefore, monitoring the lifespan, life cycles, and longevity of ticks in the field is particularly important for predicting the spread of ticks.

How long Parasitidae (Acari: Parasitiformes: Mesostigmata) live?

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Understanding the lifespan of organisms is fundamental to explaining their ecology, behaviour, and evolutionary dynamics. The present review provided a survey of the longevity and other life history data of the Parasitidae, a diverse family of mites known for their predatory and phoretic life strategies. This survey covered the influence of temperature and prey preferences as potential factors affecting lifespan variability within this taxonomic group. The findings reveal a wide longevity range, with developmental times ranging from 12 to over 60 days. Remarkably, the presence of phoretic deutonymphs complicates those estimations, with limited data on their maximal lifespan. Laboratory experiments suggest varied generation times, ranging from 8.5 to 10.2 days, yet often overlook the duration of deutonymph’s development and overwintering stage. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the Parasitidae and underscores the importance of future studies on their life-history dynamics.

The lifespan and growth parameters of mites in the family Rhodacaridae (Acari: Mesostigmata)

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This review summarized the duration of pre-adult development, adult longevity, and lifespan of the predatory mites in the family Rhodacaridae based on literature published from 1986 to 2024. Information on the biology and growth parameters of few species of rhodacarids were found in a limited number of articles. Some factors affecting lifespan, fecundity and growth parameters of these mites were cited in the literature. Basically, these evaluated factors included different prey species and prey stages, and temperatures. All reported experiments were conducted in the laboratory, which may not reflect their real growth parameters in nature.