The use of a standardized beat sampling method for estimating spruce spider mite, Oligonychus ununguis (Jacobi) (Acari: Tetranychidae), densities on a widely used evergreen ornamental plant species, Juniperus chinensis variety 'Sargentii' A. Henry (Cupressaceae), was examined. There was a significant positive relationship between total spruce spider mite densities and spider mite densities from...

Under natural conditions, plants suffer different stresses simultaneously or in a sequential way. At present, the combined effect of biotic and abiotic stressors is one of the most important threats to crop production. Understanding how plants deal with the panoply of potential stresses affecting them is crucial to develop biotechnological tools to protect plants. As well as for drought stress,...

Among 16 maras housed as a colony at a zoo, 2 initially showed generalized dermal lesions on the legs, head and abdomen. Approximately 1 month later, following completion of therapy with amitraz, 6 maras in the same colony, including the 2 previously diseased animals, showed dermal lesions with severe alopecia and crusting. Sarcoptic mange was diagnosed on skin scrapings on the basis of morphol...

A pilot survey was conducted in 2 districts in Mozambique to determine the most important health problems facing smallholder pig producers. While African swine fever is the most serious disease that affects pigs at all levels of production in Mozambique, it is likely that productivity is reduced by the presence of mange and gastrointestinal parasites, while in traditional systems the conditions...

A 70 days old Large White Yorkshire weaned piglet of piggery unit of Instructional Livestock Farm Complex, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Orathanadu was presented with the history of severe rubbing of the skin against the sides of the pen, hair loss and weakness. The clinical lesion of alopecia, superficial skin fissures and hyperkeratosis were observed around dorsal region, flank r...

Honey bee societies (Apis mellifera), the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, and honey bee viruses that are vectored by the mite, form a complex system of host-parasite interactions. Coevolution by natural selection in this system has been hindered for European honey bee hosts since apicultural practices remove the mite and consequently the selective pressures required for such a process. An...

Mite counts and tests for mite antigen were performed on samples of dust taken from the bedding of 53 children with mite-sensitive asthma. The samples from damp houses and the beds or enuretic children had markedly more mites and mite-antigen than those from dry houses. although the predominant species was usually Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, some of the beds in the damp houses were heavily ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE It has been previously reported that the pollutant sodium sulfite (Na2SO3) can activate airway epithelial cells; however, there is as yet no evidence of any direct relationship between house dust mite allergen exposure and Na2SO3 with regards to the pathogenesis of airway allergy. This study investigated the effect of sulfite on mite-stimulated human airway epithelial cel...

BACKGROUND Managed, feral and wild populations of European honey bee subspecies, Apis mellifera, are currently facing severe colony losses globally. There is consensus that the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, that switched hosts from the Eastern honey bee Apis cerana to the Western honey bee A. mellifera, is a key factor driving these losses. For >20 years, breeding efforts have not produ...

Recent research on the wheat curl mite species complex has revealed extensive genetic diversity that has distinguished several genetic lineages infesting bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and other cereals worldwide. Turkey is the historical region of wheat and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) domestication and diversification. The close relationship between these grasses and the wheat curl mite pr...