Use of sporothecae by phoretic Tarsonemus mites to transport ascospores of coniferous bluestain fungi

Abstract

Certain female Tarsonemus mites, like their host bark beetles, carry a specific fungus upon which the mites feed, inside a special morphological, spore-carrying structure called a sporotheca.The sporotheca is similar to the mycangium described for bark beetles, but differs in that no gland cells are present and the fungal spores do not multiply in the structure.So far, the phenomenon has been observed only in North America and China where the phoretic hosts of the mites are Dendroctonus and Ips.

Citation

Moser, John C. 1985. Use of sporothecae by phoretic Tarsonemus mites to transport ascospores of coniferous bluestain fungi. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 84: 750-753