. Mites associated with nest of Acromyrmex lundi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae:Attini) in Buenos Aires, Argentina

ANDRES OSVALDO PORTA Y PABLO MARTINEZ

Recife

Congreso; XIII International Congress of Acarology; 2010

Despite the many studies concerning to myrmecophilious mites, there are relatively few concerning to mites in the nest of the ants of the tribe Attini. These ants are particularly suitable for these studies because their nest has a variety of microhabitats that are used by many myrmecophilous organisms (e.g. Coleoptera). We present some results of an ongoing investigation concerning the presence of mites in the nests of Acromyrmex lundi (Guerin 1830) in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the biogeographic province of Pampas.  The mites were extracted using Berlese funnels from samples from 20 localities. All four main groups of soil mites are represented: Prostigmata, Astigmata, Oribatida and Mesostigmata.  The collected taxa are presented by means of tables by species vs. locality, trees species in which the nest is located and microhabitats (fungus chamber or debris) in which the mite species was found. Some findings result in new citations for Neotropics, as genera Scatoglyphus (Astigmata) and Gemmazetes (Oribatida) both considered Holartics; new associations among ants and mites are reported.