#parasitic — Public Fediverse posts

@nev it can happen that for example depending on the #mobility of the #beetle species and its #strategy to perform its #selfcleaning #behaviors that #phoretic and #parasitic #mites can be limited to small numbers only on an even relatively large #beetle. Most Scarabaeidae develop in #soilhabitats. But when it is #decayingwood or #compost, then this improves the probability that it has associations with phoretic mites. In beetles, #phoreticmites can sometimes be hidden under the elytrae.

The beetle #Valgus #hemipterus is a not very rare inhabitant of Southern Europe and #CentralEurope. The #specimen shown here flew onto my windowsill in #Berlin. It harbored unidentified #mites of the #Uropodina and of #Laelapidae with the latter having conspicuous strongly developed chelicerae. The Uropodinae are #phoretic and Laelapidae either phoretic or facultatively #parasitic.©#StefanFWirth

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#Photos
©S.F.Wirth

RE: https://mastodon.scot/@kim_harding/115984446339509467

#Sarcoptes #scabiei var. hominis (#Astigmata, Acariformes) is a skin-#parasitic #mite that feeds on human #epidermal cells. Infection typically occurs via adult, mated #females.The mite has #subspecies found on both #domestic and #wild #animals. The #evolutionary direction was via #humanancestors to humans and from there #spreading first to domestic animals and then to wild animals (see ref).
© #StefanFWirth 2026

Reference
R. W. Currier er al. (2012): https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06364.x

The #organisms that cause visceral #leishmaniasis, a potentially deadly version of the #parasitic disease that most often affects the skin to cause disfiguring disease, appear to have a secret weapon
#Microbiology #Medical #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2023/09/mcb09292302.html