New host-parasite association of Acherontacarus rutilans (Acari, Hydrachnidia, Acherontacaridae) on Scarodytes halensis (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)

Abstract

We report on a new larval host of the water mite Acherontacarus rutilans E. Angelier, 1951: the aquatic beetle Scarodytes halensis (Fabricius, 1787) (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae). Among 3715 beetle specimens belonging to 14 genera of Dytiscidae collected from Bingol province in the Eastern Anatolian Region of Turkey, two male individuals of S. halensis were found with five larvae of A. rutilans attached on the mesosternal region. The host species have not been reported previously and A. rutilans is also a new record for the Turkish fauna.