Collecting from a host
Unattached Acari
on mammal hosts can be combed or brushed out. Standing the animal on a white sheet or tray while this is being done means the dislodged specimens will be easier to spot.
Attached ticks
When removing attached ticks from host
- dab glycerol or alcohol around the point of attachment relaxing the tick
- hold the tick’s body firmly with sturdy forceps or between thumb and forefinger, as near to the host's skin as possible.
- pull out the tick with a rapid upward action.
When removing ticks from their hosts, it is important to make sure the mouthparts are not left behind as this
- prevents infection of the wound in live hosts
- ensures that structures important for identification are not lost
Examining hosts
Vertebrate hosts
Ectoparasitic Acari
Occur all over the body, although some species prefer particular areas. They can live freely in fur or plumage, be attached to hairs, wedged into feathers or be embedded in the skin.
In mammals Acari favour
- ears
- muzzle
- chin
- ventral midline
- axillary (armpits)
- inguinal (groin)
but the various orifices should also be checked.
Bird mites may live in the
- scaly areas of the legs and face
- inside the quills and between the barbules of feathers
- subcutaneous nodules
Reptile-dweller mites occur
- between the scales
- in pits at the base of individual scales
- in skin folds
- while some roam freely over the body
Endoparasitic mites
These are mostly found in muscles and in the respiratory and digestive systems. Occasionally, they turn up in or on other organs.
Invertebrate hosts
When examining invertebrates check
- all over the body surface of arthropods
- round the intersegmental membranes
- under movable structures, such as the elytra of beetles
- in cavities, such as the ears of moths and the tracheae
- ectoparasites of molluscs often run over the foot, but will also go into the mantle cavity.
Plant hosts
Plant mites are particularly numerous on the underside of leaves.
When examining plant hosts check
- along the midrib and veins
- in pits and pockets (= domatia)
- in the leaf blade (= lamina)
- inside galls
- but remember a mite in a gall may not have caused the gall.
Mites also live and grow on bark, fungi, lichens and algae.