Progress 10/01/03 to 09/30/04
Outputs
We continue to be engaged in systematic and ecological studies of all groups of bee associated mites in North America, with the goal of identifying, characterizing, describing or redescribing all species, and determining their host associations, geographic distribution, and ecological interactions. We have established a web-based system of dissemination to provide information in electronic form to other systematists, ecologists and practicing beekeepers. The site has been available since June 2003 at http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/beemites, and it is constantly updated and indexed by search engines. A Google search using the keywords "bee mites" lists our site in the second position. Since it creation, the home page of the site has been visited 2722 times. A web portal coordinated by the Natural History Museum (London) listed our site among the best web resources in Parasitology (http://nature.ac.uk/browse/578.65.html). We continue to collaborate with the USDA mite
site (http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/acari/frames/mites.html) and the Google Open Directory project. The following information is available on this site: 1. A database of bee-mite associations currently contains 2236 records, each representing an individual host bee with mite associates, and containing 18 searchable fields. 2. 55% of all records and 83% of the North American records have been georeferenced. Distribution maps may be automatically plotted directly from the database. 3. Auto Montage photographs of 673 specimens of bees harboring mites linked to the database. 4. Identification key. The currently available key includes all taxa at the level at which our studies are complete. Examples of the keys are available online (see above site). 5. Species accounts. To date, 48 species pages contain photographs or illustrations of the mite, taxonomic history, diagnosis, host associations and ecology, geographic distribution, and literature citations. Most of the smaller groups of mites
have been completed. We have visited bee collections at a number of museums, borrowed host specimens and have prepared approximately 5,800 slide mounted mite specimens. We have made substantial progress in the systematics of the three most important families of mites: 1. Family Chaetodactylidae. We have clarified the status of two previously reported species and have identified an additional 25 new species from North America. We have used multivariate morphometric analyses, notably Principal Component Analysis, Canonical Variates Analysis, and Logistic Regression Analysis to detect cryptic species of chaetodactylids. With the models now developed, verified by DNA sequence data and, implemented on our webpages, users can easily identify specimens of problematic taxa using a small series of characters. 2. Family Trochometridiidae. We have obtained additional new collections of Trochometridium and continue collaborating with Dr. Ronald Ochoa of the USDA Systematic Entomology Laboratory
in Beltsville, Maryland, on a revision of this family in North America. 3. Family Acaridae. We continue with systematic work on the genera Horstia, Sennertionyx and Cerophagopsis.
Impacts
Our web-based information system is allowing both specialists and non-specialists to identify bee-associated mites and access information on the taxonomy, host associations, geographic distribution and economic importance of many species. With continuing study and description of additional new species, the fauna of North America will ultimately become completely known.
Publications
- Klimov, P.B. & B.M. OConnor. 2004. Multivariate discrimination among cryptic species of the mite genus Chaetodactylus (Acari: Chaetodactylidae) associated with bees of the genus Lithurgus (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in North America. Experimental and Applied Acarology 33: 157-182.
- Bochkov. A.V. and P.B. Klimov. 2004. A new predaceous mite, Nodele (Aztecocheyletus) conquistador subg. n., sp. n. (Acari: Cheyletidae), phoretic on a bee Aztecanthidium tenochititlanicum (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Acarina 12: 23-27.
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Progress 10/01/02 to 09/30/03
Outputs
We are studying bee associated mites, with the goal of identifying, characterizing, describing or redescribing all species, and determining host associations, geographic distribution, and ecological interactions. We established a web-based system of dissemination to provide information to other systematists, ecologists and practicing beekeepers. The site has been available since June 2003 at http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu:16080/beemites/ The following information is available: 1. A database of bee-mite associations with 1675 records, each representing an individual host bee with mite associates. Each record contains 18 fields. Search capabilities enable browsing or finding specific information in any field or combination of fields. 2. Distributional information. 46% of all records and 82% of the North American records have been georeferenced. Distribution maps may be plotted directly from the database. 3. Images. We have photographed 406 specimens of bees harboring
mites using the Auto Montage system. Images are linked to the database. 4. Identification key. The currently available key includes all taxa at the level at which our studies are complete. 5. Species accounts. As information is completed on each species (i.e. redescription of previously known species or description of new ones), a species page is created. These are linked to the classification page. Species pages contain photographs or illustrations of the mite, taxonomic history, diagnosis, host associations and ecology, geographic distribution, and literature citations. We have visited bee collections, borrowed host specimens and prepared approximately 2,600 mite specimens. Dr. Klimov attended the "Bee Course" in Arizona where he made new field collections of over one thousand bee specimens. We have made significant progress in the three most important families of mites: 1. Family Chaetodactylidae. We clarified the status of two previously reported species and identified an
additional 10 new species of Chaetodactylus from North America. We used multivariate morphometric analyses, notably Principal Component Analysis, Canonical Variates Analysis, and Logistic Regression Analysis. We were able to separate environmentally determined size-related variation from shape variation, which is often better at species discrimination, and to build models that classify unknown specimens. Development of these models required a great deal of time to make the thousands of measurements necessary. With the models, users can easily identify specimens using a small series of characters. Papers describing the models and the five new species associated with Lithurgus and one new species from O. (Cephalosmia) have been submitted for publication, and the models are available at the project web site. 2. Family Trochometridiidae. We obtained new collections of Trochometridium and are collaborating with Dr. Ronald Ochoa of the USDA Systematic Entomology Laboratory in Beltsville,
Maryland, on a revision of this family in North America. 3. Family Acaridae. We completed revisions of the genera Medeus and Neohorstia. We continue with systematic work on the genera Horstia, Sennertionyx and Cerophagopsis.
Impacts
Our web-based information system is allowing both specialists and non-specialists to identify bee-associated mites and access information on their host associations, geographic range, and ecological impact. Our taxonomic work is making descriptions of new species and redescriptions of previously known species available to both the scientific and management communities.
Publications
- Klimov, P. & B.M. OConnor. 2004 (in press). Multivariate discrimination among cryptic species of the mite genus Chaetodactylus (Acari: Chaetodactylidae) associated with bees of the genus Lithurgus (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in North America. Experimental and Applied Acarology.
- Klimov, P. & B.M.OConnor. 2004. Multivariate discrimination among mites of the genus Chaetodactylus (Acari: Chaetodactylidae) associated with bees of the genus Osmia, subgenus Cephalosmia (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Canadian Journal of Zoology (in review)
- OConnor, B.M., P. Tan & P.B. Klimov. 2004. Revision of the genus Medeus (Acari: Acaridae), mites associated with bees of the genera Anthophora and Diadasia (Hymenoptera: Apidae). International Journal of Acarology (in review).
- OConnor, B.M. & P. Klimov. 2004. Systematics of the genus Neohorstia (Acari: Acaridae), mites associated with megachilid bees (Hymenoptera), with observations on ontogeny. International Journal of Acarology (in review)
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