FIRST RECORD OF BLATTISOCIUS MALI(OUDEMANS, 1929) IN HUNGARYASSOCIATED WITH THE DROSOPHILID FLY PHORTICA SEMIVIRGO(MÁCA, 1977)

Abstract

The males of drosophilid fruitflies of Phortica genus usually feed on the lacrimal secretions of animals and humans and play a role in the transmission of the canine thelaziosis nematode (Thelazia callipaeda Railliet & Henry, 1910), which parasitizes the conjunctival sac of dogs, cats, wild carnivores and sometimes even humans (MÁCA and OTRANTO, 2014). This canine thelaziosis nematode has been known as oriental eyeworm since its original geographical distribution is in the Far East where it is widely distributed. For now, T. callipeada is in expansion in large parts of Europe from Spain to Hungary (MARINO et al., 2018, FARKAS et al., 2018). In Europe, Phortica variegata (Fallén, 1823) is the only confirmed vector of the canine thelaziosis nematode, however, the other Phortica species, Ph. semivirgo (Máca, 1977), is also mentioned as a potential vector (MÁCA and OTRANTO, 2014). Till today several mite species are recorded from different groups of flies (SAMŠIŇÁK, 1979, 1989, PEROTTI and BRAIG, 2009, MUMCUOGLU and BRAVERMAN, 2010, PEREZ-LEANOS et al., 2017), but the mites associated with drosophilids are scarcely investigated. Despite the fact that the first cooccurrence of mites with drosophilid flies are known from the Miocene and Upper Eocene (25-40 MYA) (POINAR and GRIMALDI, 1990, ROSS 1998), only a few recent cases of associations are presented (POINAR and GRIMALDI, 1990, LEHTINEN and ASPI, 1992, PEREZ-LEANOS et al., 2017). In the framework of a local faunistic study on drosophilids, some mite specimens were found on the body of Phortica semivirgo. This mite species was the blattisociid Blattisocius mali (Oudemans, 1929) which was not reported from Hungary till today. The association of B. mali with drosophilid flies is poorlyknown, only LEHTINEN and ASPI (1992) presented some records from Finland, but nobody found the association of this mite with the drosophilid fly Ph. semivirgo.