Temperature and humidity differences between roosts of the fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus (Geoffroy, 1810), and the refugia of its ectoparasite, Afrocimex constrictus

Effect of Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Aldehydes on Efficacy of Fungal Biopesticides

The use of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Bals. - Criv.) Vuill. (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) has been recently incorporated in the management of bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae). Bed bugs produce a set of aldehydes that are known to affect the growth of some fungi. Considering that bed bugs or their exuviae release these aldehydes, it was suspected that the bed bugs' aggregation sites would contain an increased level of the bed bug aldehydes. The current study examined if elevated levels of the bed bug aldehydes in the microhabitats would impact the efficacy of B. bassiana. Following a brief exposure to the residues of commercial products containing B. bassiana, the treated bed bugs were kept in a vial with or without a natural or artificial blend of bed bug aldehydes (i.e., exuviae or synthetic compounds). For a B. bassiana product that is not currently registered for bed bugs control, the presence of aldehydes significantly reduced 15-d mortality (61-62%) compared to the no aldehydes control (97.7%). However, when tested with a B. bassiana formulation designed for bed bug control, the aldehydes only caused delayed mortality for the treated bed bugs. When tested in culture, the growth rate of B. bassiana on a medium was significantly reduced when the bed bug aldehydes were provided in the headspace. Implications on practical bed bug management using fungal biopesticides are discussed.

Polyctenidae (Hemiptera: Cimicoidea) species in the Afrotropical region: Distribution, host specificity, and first insights to their molecular phylogeny

Polyctenidae bugs are rarely studied, hematophagous, and highly specialized ectoparasites of bats. There are only 32 described species worldwide, including six species in the Afrotropical region. Knowledge on these parasites is limited, and most studies are restricted to the New World polyctenid species. Here we report additional records of Adroctenes horvathi from Kenya and South Africa, as well as Hypoctenes faini from Rwanda. We present an updated list of published polyctenid records in the Afrotropical region indicating their host specificity and their geographical distribution. We report global infection patterns and sex ratio of polyctenids based on previously published data, including Old and New World species. Lastly, we demonstrate the first molecular phylogeny of Polyctenidae, showing their phylogenetic relationship with the closely related family Cimicidae.

Parasitism by Nycteribiidae and Streblidae Flies (Diptera) of a Malagasy Fruit Bat (Pteropodidae): Effects of Body Size and Throat Gland Development on Parasite Abundance

We examined the possible effects of host body size and throat gland development on the abundance of blood-feeding nycteribiid and streblid flies parasitizing a Malagasy fruit bat, Rousettus madagascariensis G. Grandidier, 1928. Data were collected in the Parc National d'Ankarana in northern Madagascar during four visits: September 2014, 2015 (dry season), and January 2015, 2016 (wet season). Two bat fly species were identified, Eucampsipoda madagascarensis Theodor, 1955 (Nycteribiidae) and Megastrebla wenzeli (Jobling, 1952) (Streblidae). A positive correlation was found between host body size and abundance of E. madagascarensis during the four visits, suggesting that larger hosts have more parasites, and for M. wenzeli, this relationship was identified only during the wet season visits. In male hosts, body size and throat gland development are correlated with variation in E. madagascarensis abundance during the two seasons; this relationship was not found for M. wenzeli. We present some explanations for the observed patterns of bat fly abundance associated with throat gland development: increased vascularization and easier access to bloodmeals, chemical properties of gland secretions acting as attractants or perhaps being consumed, and modification of hair around the gland providing protection from bat grooming.

Ectoparasite Raymondia lobulata infestation in relation to the reproductive cycle of its host--the greater false vampire bat Megaderma lyra

To study variation of infestations by the bat fly Raymondia lobulata (Diptera: Streblidae) on the greater false vampire bat Megaderma lyra (Chiroptera: Megadermatidae), we captured individual bats at their day roost in the south of India and recorded their rate of infestation continuously for a year. All examined bats (n = 72 individuals, 202 captures) were infested with parasites (n = 3,008). However, the recorded intensity of infestation (range 1-33) was gender-related and statistically higher in females than in males (F(1, 200) = 304.45, P < 0.001). Furthermore, pregnant and lactating females had greater parasite loads than non-reproductive females and males (F(1, 63) = 23.34, P < 0.001 and F(1, 37) = 78.07, P < 0.001, respectively). No significant differences were observed between males either during mating and non-mating periods or breeding and non-breeding seasons. Analysis of the relationship between parasite infestation and the reproductive status of bats revealed that pregnant and lactating females with pups were more vulnerable hosts for parasites. Our results also suggest a well-developed coevolutionary strategy for synchronized reproduction within the host-parasite relationship and add to our understanding of how host sex and reproductive status shape the dynamics of parasitism.