A new species of parasitic mites of the genus Syringophiloidus Kethley 1970 (Acari: Syringophilidae) from the Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758

Abstract

A new quill mite species Syringophiloidus hirundinis (Acari: Syringophilidae) is described from the Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica. The species Syringophiloidus hirundinis had a prevalence of 17.1% in the two outermost tail feathers (N = 208 adult Barn Swallows) during the breeding season of the Barn Swallow host. Intensity of infestation was 9.7 adult mites per pair of infested tail feathers. The sex ratio was highly biased towards females, with only 7.5% of all individuals being males (20:3).