Parasitism of Mosquitoes by Water Mites1

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Abstract
A large sample of Ohio mosquitoes was para-sitized by 2 kinds of water mites. Thyasid-type mites walk on the surface of the water and encounter hosts there while the pionid-type larvae are strictly aquatic. The 2 types of larvae differ greatly in general morphology. Both kinds of larvae are locally abundant in Ohio but the species and their degree of host specificity remain to be worked out. A few local populations of mosquitoes are so heavily infested that the mites could serve as useful markers in studies of these populations. The discouraging results of most attempts to use water mites as markers are due to failure to separate records and identify kinds of mite larvae. When records are not pooled and the biology of the mite given due consideration, it is possible to use the parasitic larvae in distribution and age-grading studies of their host mosquitoes.

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