Orlova M.V., Kazakov D.V., Orlov O.L., Mishchenko V.A., Zhigalin A.V. 2017. The first data on the infestation of the parti-coloured bat, Vespertilio murinus (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae), with gamasid mites, Steatonyssus spinosus (Mesostigmata, Gamasina, Macronyssidae) // Russian J. Theriol. Vol.16. No.1: 66–73 [in English].
Maria V. Orlova [masha_orlova@mail.ru] National Research Tomsk State University, av. Lenina 36, Tomsk, 634050, Russia; Tyumen State University, Volodarskogo str., 6, Tyumen, 625003, Russia; Denis V. Kazakov [kazakov.denis.95@mail.ru] Irkutsk State University, Karl Marks str. 1, Irkutsk, 664003, Russia; Oleg L. Orlov [o_l_orlov@mail.ru] Ural State Pedagogical University, av. Kosmonavtov, 26, Ekaterinburg, 620017, Russia; Vladimir A. Mishchenko [innamoramento23@yandex.ru] Ural Federal University, Mira str., 19, Ekaterinburg, 620002, Russia; Alexandr V. Zhigalin [alex-zhigalin@mail.ru] National Research Tomsk State University, av. Lenina 36, Tomsk, 634050, Russia.
doi: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.16.1.06
ABSTRACT. This article presents one of the very few records of a macronyssid mite (Mesostigmata, Gamasina, Macronyssidae) infestation of vesper bats (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae). It is the first report of the influence of host parameters on the infestation of the parti-coloured bat, Vespertilio murinus, by the mite Steatonyssus spinosus. It has been shown that the infestation varies considerably throughout the host’s occupation of summer roosts and the highest infestation was observed in the post-lactation period. Female bats are infested significantly more intensively than male bats due to changes in their immune status during pregnancy and lactation. The infestation decreases in the period when the breeding colony disbands due to both roost switching and the intensification of grooming during this period.
KEY WORDS: Steatonyssus spinosus, gamasid mites, bat ectoparasites, parti-coloured bat.