# Histiostoma

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Genus of mites

Histiostoma Ventral surface of Histiostoma feroniarum Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Chelicerata Class: Arachnida Order: Sarcoptiformes Family: Histiostomatidae Genus: Histiostoma Kramer, 1876

***Histiostoma*** is a genus of [mites](/source/Mite) in the family [Histiostomatidae](/source/Histiostomatidae).[1][2]

## Description

Both females and males of *Histiostoma* have two pairs of genital rings. In females, the anterior pair are positioned laterally between the bases of the second and third leg pairs, while the posterior pair are not associated with the anus. Additionally, in both sexes the pretarsi have ambulacra that are not bilobed. The [chelicerae](/source/Chelicerae) are modified and brush-like.[3]

Like some other astigmatan mites, *Histiostoma* can form deutonymphs. Deutonymphs have simple empodial claws. The tarsi of the third and fourth leg pairs have a weak, flexible region in the middle. The pretarsi of these leg pairs have empodial claws. The hysterosomal [setae](/source/Seta) c1, d1 and e1 are all filiform. On the ventral surface is an attachment organ which is wider than long.[3]

## Ecology

*[Histiostoma inquilinus](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Histiostoma_inquilinus&action=edit&redlink=1)* on a bee

*Histiostoma* primarily feed on microbes, which they filter from the substrate using their chelicerae.[3]

Various *Histiostoma* have deutonymphs associated with insects: *[H. blomquisti](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Histiostoma_blomquisti&action=edit&redlink=1)* with queens of [red imported fire ant](/source/Red_imported_fire_ant),[4] *[H. polypori](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Histiostoma_polypori&action=edit&redlink=1)* with the [earwig](/source/Earwig) *[Forficula auricularia](/source/Forficula_auricularia)*,[5][6] and various species (e.g. *[H. ovalis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Histiostoma_ovalis&action=edit&redlink=1)*) with [bark beetles](/source/Bark_beetle)[7] or bees.[3]

- Both *H. polypori* and another species, *[H. maritimum](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Histiostoma_maritimum&action=edit&redlink=1)*, exhibit [necromeny](/source/Necromeny). In the case of *H. polypori*, it attaches to adult female earwigs while in its deutonymph stage. When a female earwig produces offspring, most of them die before reaching adulthood. *Histiostoma* *polypori* moves onto the cadaver of an earwig nymph, where it feeds on [bacteria](/source/Bacteria) and develops.[5]

- *Histiostoma ovalis* is [phoretic](/source/Phoresis) on the bark beetle *[Ips sexdentatus](/source/Ips_sexdentatus)*, meaning it temporarily attaches to this beetle for transport. It feeds on bacteria in wood mould in galleries of its bark beetle host. It also congregates on and around dead beetles. In rare cases, *H. ovalis* shows hyperphoresis: attaching to another mite species (*[Dendrolaelaps quadrisetus](/source/Dendrolaelaps_quadrisetus)*) that is itself phoretically attached to the bark beetle.[7]

- *[Histiostoma inquilinus](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Histiostoma_inquilinus&action=edit&redlink=1)*, one of the bee-associated species, can be found in the [acarinarium](/source/Acarinarium) of *[Xenoglossa](/source/Xenoglossa)* bees. They may benefit the bees by protecting them from microbes, which would make this a case of mutualism.[3]

[*Histiostoma* *murchiei*](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Histiostoma_murchiei&action=edit&redlink=1) and *[H. berghi](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Histiostoma_berghi&action=edit&redlink=1)* are instead [parasites](/source/Parasitism) of [annelid](/source/Annelid) cocoons. The former targets [earthworms](/source/Earthworm) while the latter targets [leeches](/source/Leech).[8]

Some members of this genus are aquatic. Species of *Histiostoma* have been found in water, in debris at the bottom of [aquaria](/source/Aquarium), on the gills of eels (*[H. anguillarum](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Histiostoma_anguillarum&action=edit&redlink=1)*), in the swim bladder of [iridescent shark](/source/Iridescent_shark) (*[H. piscium](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Histiostoma_piscium&action=edit&redlink=1)*) and on the fins and gills of [Murray cod](/source/Murray_cod) (*[H. papillata](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Histiostoma_papillata&action=edit&redlink=1)*). These may be cases of parasitism.[9]

## Reproduction

During mating, the male gets on top of the female, facing in the same direction, and clasps her with his legs.[10]

Males in some *Histiostoma* species [have two distinct forms](/source/Polyphenism), with some males being larger and with thicker legs than others. This may be for fighting other males for access to females.[10]

*Histiostoma* *murchiei* has an unusual method of reproduction. On reaching adulthood, a female lays 2-9 eggs [parthenogenetically](/source/Parthenogenesis), which only produce male offspring. The males develop rapidly to adulthood and mate with their mother 3-4 days after laying. Now fertilised, the female lays up to 500 eggs and these produce female offspring.[8]

## Pest status

*[Histiostoma laboratorium](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Histiostoma_laboratorium&action=edit&redlink=1)* is a pest of *[Drosophila melanogaster](/source/Drosophila_melanogaster)* cultures, even being named for its prevalence in genetics laboratories. It reproduces faster than *D. melanogaster* and rapidly overruns cultures.[11]

## Evolution

Putative deutonymphs of *Histiostoma* have been found on a *[Phloeosinus](/source/Phloeosinus)* bark beetle in [Baltic amber](/source/Baltic_amber), meaning this genus' association with bark beetles has existed for at least 44–49 million years.[7]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Mindat.org"](https://www.mindat.org/taxon-2181975.html). *www.mindat.org*. Retrieved 2023-01-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Australia, Atlas of Living. ["Genus: Histiostoma"](https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/44b37005-f280-4273-bda2-2e7ee09f59ca). *bie.ala.org.au*. Retrieved 2023-01-19.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:3_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:3_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:3_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:3_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:3_3-4) ["Histiostoma | Bee Mite ID"](https://idtools.org/tools/4/index.cfm?packageID=1&entityID=104). *idtools.org*. Retrieved 2023-02-21.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Wirth, S.; Moser, J. C. (2010-09-30). ["Histiostoma blomquisti n. sp. (Acari: Astigmata: Histiostomatidae), a phoretic mite of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)"](https://www1.montpellier.inra.fr/CBGP/acarologia/article.php?id=1979). *Acarologia*. **50** (3): 357–371. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1051/acarologia/20101979](https://doi.org/10.1051%2Facarologia%2F20101979). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0044-586X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0044-586X). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [205041](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:205041).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-pmid19697142_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-pmid19697142_5-1) S. Wirth (December 2009). "Necromenic life style of *Histiostoma polypori* (Acari: Histiostomatidae)". *[Experimental and Applied Acarology](/source/Experimental_and_Applied_Acarology)*. **49** (4): 317–327. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s10493-009-9295-6](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10493-009-9295-6). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [19697142](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19697142). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [20109475](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:20109475).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** BEHURA, B. K. (1950). ["A Little-known Tyroglyphoid Mite, Histiostoma polypori (Oud.), and its Association with the Earwig, Forficula auricularia Linn"](https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/1651025b0). *Nature*. **165** (4208): 1025–1026. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1038/1651025b0](https://doi.org/10.1038%2F1651025b0). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0028-0836](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0028-0836). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [15439085](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15439085). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [4161389](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:4161389).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_7-2) Wirth, Stefan F.; Garonna, Antonio P. (2015-07-04). ["Histiostoma ovalis (Histiostomatidae, Acari) associated with Ips sexdentatus (Scolytinae, Curculionidae, Coleoptera): ecology and mite redescription on the basis of formerly unknown adults and nymphs"](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01647954.2015.1050062). *International Journal of Acarology*. **41** (5): 415–428. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/01647954.2015.1050062](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F01647954.2015.1050062). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0164-7954](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0164-7954). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [82307564](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:82307564).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_8-1) Oliver, James H. (1962). ["A Mite Parasitic in the Cocoons of Earthworms"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3275424). *The Journal of Parasitology*. **48** (1): 120–123. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/3275424](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F3275424). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [3275424](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3275424). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [14481811](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14481811).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Halliday, Rb; Collins, Ro (2002-04-19). ["Histiostoma papillata sp. n. (Acari: Histiostomatidae), a mite attacking fish in Australia"](http://doi.wiley.com/10.1046/j.1440-6055.2002.00284.x). *Australian Journal of Entomology*. **41** (2): 155–158. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1046/j.1440-6055.2002.00284.x](https://doi.org/10.1046%2Fj.1440-6055.2002.00284.x). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1326-6756](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1326-6756).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_10-1) Wirth, Stefan (2005-06-01). ["Transformations of copulatory structures and observations on the male polyphenism in the phylogeny of the Histiostomatidae (Acari: Astigmata)"](https://doi.org/10.1080/01647950508683657). *International Journal of Acarology*. **31** (2): 91–100. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/01647950508683657](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F01647950508683657). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0164-7954](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0164-7954). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [84640018](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:84640018).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Brown, Russell V. (1965-02-01). ["Control of Histiostoma laboratorium in Drosophila Cultures"](http://academic.oup.com/jee/article/58/1/156/2208101/Control-of-Histiostoma-laboratorium-in-Drosophila). *Journal of Economic Entomology*. **58** (1): 156–157. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/jee/58.1.156](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fjee%2F58.1.156). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1938-291X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1938-291X).

Taxon identifiers Histiostoma Wikidata: Q11844137 Wikispecies: Histiostoma AFD: Histiostoma BioLib: 77265 BOLD: 656746 BugGuide: 258685 EoL: 3200167 EPPO: 1HISTG GBIF: 2181975 iNaturalist: 249430 IRMNG: 1121490 NBN: NHMSYS0021288029 NCBI: 223515 NZOR: a2d60dba-36b0-4504-bcf7-7a1fb5cdd15a

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