A Critical Review of All Known Published Records for Water Mite (Acari: Hydrachnidiae) and Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) Parasitic Associations From 1975 to Present

The Biodiversity of Water Mites That Prey on and Parasitize Mosquitoes

Water mites form one of the most biodiverse groups within the aquatic arachnid class. These freshwater macroinvertebrates are predators and parasites of the equally diverse nematocerous Dipterans, such as mosquitoes, and water mites are believed to have diversified as a result of these predatory and parasitic relationships. Through these two major biotic interactions, water mites have been found to greatly impact a variety of mosquito species. Although these predatory and parasitic interactions are important in aquatic ecology, very little is known about the diversity of water mites that interact with mosquitoes. In this paper, we review and update the past literature on the predatory and parasitic mite–mosquito relationships, update past records, discuss the biogeographic range of these interactions, and add our own recent findings on this topic conducted in habitats around the Laurentian Great Lakes. The possible impact on human health, along with the importance of water mite predator–prey dynamics in aquatic food webs, motivates an increase in future research on this aquatic predator and parasite and may reveal novel ecological functions that these parasitic and predator–prey relationships mediate.

[Mosquito microbiota and its influence on disease vectorial transmission]

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are found worldwide. Around 100 among 3500 mosquito species are known to be vectors of parasites and viruses, responsible for infectious diseases including malaria and dengue. Mosquitoes host diverse microbial communities that influence disease transmission, either by direct interference or via affecting host immunity and physiology. These microbial communities are present within diverse tissues, including the digestive tract, and vary depending on the sex of the mosquito, its developmental stage, and ecological factors. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the mosquito microbiota, defined as a community of commensal, symbiotic or pathogenic microbes harboured by a host. We first describe the current knowledge on the diversity of the microbiota, that includes bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses and on its modes of acquisition throughout the mosquito life cycle. We then focus on microbial interactions within the mosquito gut, which notably affect vector competence, and on host-microbe interactions affecting mosquito fitness. Finally, we discuss current or potential methods based on the use of microbes or microbial products to interfere with pathogen transmission or to reduce mosquito lifespan and reproduction.

First Record of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) and Second Record of Aedes japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae) Parasitized by Water Mites (Acari: Hydrachnidiae) in North America

The primary aim of this study was to determine if the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus (Skuse)) (Diptera: Culicidae), that vectors a number of arboviruses, is parasitized by water mites (Acari: Prostigmata: Parasitengonina: Hydrachnidiae). Larval water mite parasitism of adult mosquitoes has been shown to reduce mosquito fecundity and life span in the laboratory, and impact some populations in the field. Water mites have been considered for biocontrol purposes and used to age-grade mosquito populations. Consequently, there is interest in water mite-mosquito associations from public health and integrated pest management perspectives. In 2016, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection West Nile Virus Control Program examined 146,607 mosquitoes representing 31 species for parasitic mites. Ten mosquitoes representing four species rarely or not previously known to be parasitized by mites were saved from destructive West Nile virus and Zika virus testing. Twelve parasitic mites were identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. An Asian tiger mosquito and an Asian bush mosquito (Aedes japonicus) (Theobald) were each parasitized by a Parathyas sp. Lundblad (Hydryphantoidea: Hydryphantidae: Euthyadinae) water mite, and are the first and second records of these associations in North America, respectively. Two Culex restuans Theobald (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes parasitized by either a Euthyas sp. Piersig (Hydryphantoidea: Hydryphantidae: Euthyadinae) or a Parathyas sp. water mite are new associations, and a Culex pipiens Linnaeus mosquito parasitized by a Parathyas sp. water mite represents a new record for this association in North America.