The Occurrence of Mites in the Tracheal System of Certain Orthoptera

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Abstract
The initial discovery of this form of parasitism was made on August 13, 1914, by Mr. C. C. Hamilton, a student at the Kansas State Agricultural College. While examining a series of insects for internal parasites he found the tracheæ of a grasshopper ( Hippiscus apiculatus Harris) infested with what appeared to be a mite. The unusualness of such a relation attracted attention at once and the problem of making an intensive study of the whole matter was turned over to the first author of this paper, then a graduate student in the Department of Entomology in the above mentioned institution and working under the direction of the second author. The study was carried on over two successive seasons, but later interrupted by the departure of both authors to other institutions. In the meantime Rennie and his associates (1921) announced the discovery in Great Britain of a new species of mite, Tarsonemus woodi Rennie, now known as Acarapis woodi Rennie, which inhabits the tracheal system of the common honeybee and which, according to all evidence available at the present time, is the causative agent of the well known Isle of Wight disease. This appears to be the first published record of mites inhabiting the tracheal system of an insect. The discovery of this unique form of parasitism and its causal relation to the Isle of Wight disease gave new interest to the earlier discovery of mites in the tracheal system of grasshoppers and during the past six months a complete re-examination of all of the original materials and records has been made. Although very incomplete in certain respects, it has seemed wise to publish an account of the principal results of this investigation in order to make available such facts as have been determined and to interest other investigators in extending knowledge of this form of parasitism.

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