BACKGROUND Prenatal or embryonic learning, behavioral change following experience made prior to birth, may have significant consequences for postnatal foraging behavior in a wide variety of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and molluscs. However, prenatal learning has not been previously shown in arthropods such as insects, spiders and mites. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS ...

We present a literature survey and analysis of the profile of mites (Acari, exclusive of Ixodida) in recent literature and on the World Wide Web, and compare their prominence to that of spiders (Araneae). Despite having approximately the same number of described species, spiders outshine mites on the Web, although the study of mites (Acarology) is better represented than the study of spiders (A...

Miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) are a specific group of nonautonomous DNA transposons, and they are distributed in a wide range of hosts. However, the origin and evolutionary history of MITEs in eukaryotic genomes remain unclear. In this study, six MITEs were identified in the silkworm (Bombyx mori). Five elements are grouped into four known superfamilies of DNA transpos...

A brief review of acari parasitizing reptiles (Reptilia) was presented. Reptilian mites are represented by 15 families of temporary and permanent parasites which belong to 3 orders: Mesostigmata (Entonyssidae, Heterozerconidae, Ixodorhynchidae, Laelapidae, Macronyssidae, Omentolaelapidae, Paramegistidae), Metastigmata (Amblyommidae, Argasidae, Ixodidae) and Prostigmata (Cloacaridae, Harpirhynch...

MITEs (miniature inverted-repeated transposable elements) are a particular class of defective DNA transposons usually present within genomes as high copy number populations of highly homogeneous elements. Although an active MITE, the mPing element, has recently been characterized in rice, the transposition mechanism of MITEs remains unknown. It has been proposed that transposases of related tra...

Mites of family Erythraeidae are parasites in their larval stage and predators in their post-larval stages on a variety of arthropods, among which are important pest species. During 2011-2013, in a faunistic survey of mites associated with beetles of the family Chrysomelidae in Oil and Gas company of Gachsaranregion, Iran. Specimens were preserved in AG (alcohol 75%, glyserin 5%), cleared in la...

Recent honey bee colony losses, particularly during the winter, have been shown to be associated with the presence of both ectoparasitic mites and Deformed Wing Virus (DWV). Whilst the role of Varroa destructor mites as a viral vector is well established, the role of Tropilaelaps mercedesae mites in viral transmission has not been fully investigated. In this study, we tested the effects that V....

Acarapis mites, including Acarapis woodi, Acarapis externus, and Acarapis dorsalis, are parasites of bees which can cause severe damage to the bee industry by destroying colonies and decreasing honey production. All 3 species are prevalent throughout many countries including UK, USA, Iran, Turkey, China, and Japan. Based on previous reports of Acarapis mites occurring in northeast Asia, includi...

Count data for the number of citrus rust mites per cm 2 on fruit across a 4-ha (10acre) area of orange trees followed the negative binomial probability distribution 79% of the time based on chi-square tests. A correlation of r = 0.993 was found between observed counts and counts projected based on the distribution. A common k of 0.149 was computed but generally appeared more suitable for mean d...

Seasonal abundance of spider mites and their predators on red raspberry was studied in 1993 and 1994 at 2 agricultural locations near Quebec City, Canada. Three raspberry systems, wild raspberry, pesticide-free cultivated raspberry, and commercial raspberry treated with a variety of pesticides, were sampled at frequent intervals. Tetranychus mcdanieli McGregor accounted for 87.5, 80.6, and 95.0...