» Articles » PMID: 38182821

Bat Ectoparasites: Chigger Mites (Trombiculidae), Ticks (Ixodidae and Argasidae), and Bugs (Cimicidae) in the Eastern Palaearctic

Overview
Journal Parasitol Res
Specialty Parasitology
Date 2024 Jan 5
PMID 38182821
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

Nine species-level taxa of bat ectoparasites, three chigger mites (Trombiculidae), three hard (Ixodidae), and one soft tick (Argasidae) species, as well as two bug (Cimicidae) species from nine bat species hosts were detected in the Eastern Palaearctic. Trombiculid larvae of Leptotrombidium schlugerae, Leptotrombidium album, and Ascoschoengastia latyshevi were first recorded on bats in the temperate zone of eastern Russia. L. schlugerae was more abundant than A. latyshevi in the same study sites in Eastern Siberia, and the main hosts of both chigger species were Plecotus ognevi and Eptesicus nilssonii. Ixodid ticks Dermacentor marginatus, Ixodes simplex, and Ixodes sp. were sampled from bats in Kazakhstan, the Far East, and Eastern Siberia, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis based on Cox1, 16S rDNA, and ITS2 sequences of I. simplex showed that the specimens from the Far East grouped into a clade distributed in the Eastern Palaearctic and India. In turn, the specimen of Ixodes sp. from Eastern Siberia was most closely related to Ixodes soricis and Ixodes angustus with p-distance of 9.8-10.7% (Cox1), suggesting that this tick probably belongs to a new species. Argas vespertilionis larvae were collected from three widespread bat species in Kazakhstan. Two bug species, Cimex pipistrelli and Cimex aff. lectularius, were recorded in the Far East and Eastern Siberia, respectively. Specimens from Transbaikalia were morphologically identified as Cimex lectularius. However, they differed from the latter by 12.5-12.9% of Cox1 sequences, indicating that C. aff. lectularius may be a new species.

Citing Articles

Zoonotic Bacteria and Vector-Borne Protozoa in Troglophilus Bat Colonies in Sicily (Southern Italy): A Biomolecular Survey.

Di Bella S, Giacchino I, Blanda V, Gucciardi F, Scibetta S, La Russa F Animals (Basel). 2025; 15(4).

PMID: 40002970 PMC: 11851715. DOI: 10.3390/ani15040488.

References
1.
Akhoundi M, Sereno D, Durand R, Mirzaei A, Bruel C, Delaunay P . Bed Bugs (Hemiptera, Cimicidae): Overview of Classification, Evolution and Dispersion. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(12). PMC: 7345932. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17124576. View

2.
Balvin O, Roth S, Talbot B, Reinhardt K . Co-speciation in bedbug Wolbachia parallel the pattern in nematode hosts. Sci Rep. 2018; 8(1):8797. PMC: 5995804. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-25545-y. View

3.
Blake F, Maxcy K, SADUSK Jr J, KOHLS G, Bell E . TROMBICULA FLETCHERI WOMERSLEY AND HEASLIP 1943, A VECTOR OF TSUTSUGAMUSHI DISEASE (SCRUB TYPHUS) IN NEW GUINEA. Science. 1945; 102(2638):61-4. DOI: 10.1126/science.102.2638.61. View

4.
Frances S, Watcharapichat P, Phulsuksombati D, Tanskul P . Transmission of Orientia tsutsugamushi, the aetiological agent for scrub typhus, to co-feeding mites. Parasitology. 2000; 120 ( Pt 6):601-7. DOI: 10.1017/s0031182099005909. View

5.
Fukunaga M, Yabuki M, Hamase A, Oliver Jr J, Nakao M . Molecular phylogenetic analysis of ixodid ticks based on the ribosomal DNA spacer, internal transcribed spacer 2, sequences. J Parasitol. 2000; 86(1):38-43. DOI: 10.1645/0022-3395(2000)086[0038:MPAOIT]2.0.CO;2. View