Observations on a mite (Poecilochirus davydovae) predatory on the eggs of burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides) with a review of its taxonomic status

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Abstract
Observational evidence is presented suggesting that the mite Poecilochirus davydovae Hyatt (Mesostigmata: Parasitidae) is predatory on the eggs of the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides Herbst and that an increase in numbers of the mite in the laboratory accounts for a reduction in apparent beetle clutch size over successive generations. Morphological adaptations for oophagy are described and physogastry is reported for the first time in the genus Poecilochirus. A new sub‐genus Physoparasilus is proposed for the reception of P. davydovae and P. subterraneus and the female of P. davydovae is redescribed. The implications of the oophagous behaviour of P. davydovae on the mite‐Nicrophorus relationship are discussed.