#acariformes

Long-legged velvet mite (Leptus sp.)

Majority of Anna's hummingbirds may have feather mites on their tail feathers

Hummingbirds are known to host a diversity of feather mites, but this relationship is not well-understood. In particular, mite distribution in situ has not been previously studied. The authors of the present study examined 753 hummingbirds of five species from urban locations in California: Anna's, Allen's, Black-chinned, Calliope and Rufous Hummingbirds. They documented the presence of the feather mite Proctophyllodes huitzilopochtlii on tail flight feathers.

The researchers found that feather mites were present on the tail flight feathers of nearly 60 percent of Anna's hummingbirds, but less than 10 percent of the other species. Across all the species, the mite was more prevalent on the tail feathers of males (44.9 percent) than on those of females (36.2 percent), possibly because of the nesting habits of females.

The authors used tabletop scanning electron microscopy to analyze individual feathers, building a detailed 3D picture of the distribution of live mites in situ. They found that there tended to be more mites on the hummingbirds' outer tail feathers than inner, and saw that mites often nestled between the barbs of individual feathers, sometimes in high numbers.

Mange mite (Chorioptes bovis)

Red velvet mite (Mesothrombium sp.)

When it comes to fossils, arachnids are not a group that obviously springs to mind. However, with more than 100,000 described living species, Arachnida form the second most diverse group of primarily land-living organisms after the insects. And they probably made up a significant proportion of the Earth’s biodiversity in the past, just as they do in terrestrial ecosystems today. Despite this,…