Mite fauna (Acari: Erythraeidae and Otopheidomenidae) associated with hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) in northeastern Brazil

The current understanding of ectoparasitic mites, especially those belonging to Otopheidomenidae, has been constrained by limited data derived primarily from museum specimens. To bridge this knowledge gap, we undertook a study to investigate mite infestations on freshly captured hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). From August 2016 to July 2018, we collected samples in the Chapada do Araripe area in the municipality of Santana do Cariri (7°12′33′′S, 39°43′22′′W, 750 m a.s.l.), Ceará, Northeast Brazil. We attracted and captured sphingids using an artificial light source and then gathered mites from them. Among the 3,690 sphingid specimens collected from 37 species of both sexes, 119 individuals from 18 species were found to be mite-infested—a prevalence rate of 3.3%. We identified four mite species: Prasadiseius donahuei (Prasad), Prasadiseius cocytes (Prasad) (Otopheidomenidae), Callidosoma selmae Costa, Klompen, Santos, Favretto & Pepato, and an unidentified Caeculisoma species (Erythraeidae). Our data revealed the importance of seasonality for both host and parasite populations, and we observed no specific preference for infestation sites. This research recorded several first-time observations: a sphingid infested by two species of otopheidomenid mites, C. selmae parasitizing sphingids, and mites recorded from the legs of sphingids. The species Erinnyis ello ello (Linnaeus) was not only the most abundant but also the most frequently parasitized. This host presented the highest parasitism descriptors. Among the 662 mites identified, 506 were P. donahuei, predominantly infesting E. ello ello. We recommend further research to explore the potential for coevolutionary dynamics between mites and their hosts, examining how host defenses and mite adaptations influence each other over time.