Seasonal phoresy as an overwintering strategy of a phytophagous mite

Abstract

Migration by attachment to insects is common among mites that live in temporary habitats. However, because plants provide relatively stable habitats, phytophagous mites are generally not dependent on other animals for dispersal, so whether these mites can consistently be phoretic on insects through a particular life stage remains unclear and controversial. Here, we describe an obligate phoresy of a wholly phytophagous mite, Aceria pallida, in which the mites accompanied the psyllid Bactericera gobica to its winter hibernation sites, thus successfully escaping unfavourable winter conditions, and returned to reach the buds of their host plant early the following spring. This finding provides evidence of a new overwintering strategy that has contributed to the evolutionary success of these tiny phytophagous mites.