First record of water Mite (Arrenurus spp.) ectoparasitism on dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera) in Bangladesh.

Authors

Khondoker Md Zulfiker Rahman, Farjana Akter, Md Shohag Mia

Published in

International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife. Volume 31. Pages 101303. Epub Oct 13, 2026.

Abstract

Water mites, as ectoparasites, are known to significantly impact the flight behavior, fitness, and reproductive success of their aquatic insect hosts. Although water mite infestations on dragonflies have been documented globally, the ectoparasitic relationship between dragonflies and water mites has remained completely unexplored in Bangladesh. Therefore, for the first time in Bangladesh, this study investigated the prevalence, intensity, host selection, sex bias, and site specificity of larval water mite infestation in dragonflies in a semi-urban lentic ecosystem on the Jahangirnagar University campus, Bangladesh, from June 2023 to April 2024. During the study period, 2627 dragonfly individuals from 20 species were checked for the presence of water mite larvae; 318 individuals from 6 species were found infested, yielding an infestation prevalence of 12.11%. All the larvae were identified as a single genus, Arrenurus sp. Among the infested dragonflies, the highest of 35.60% prevalence was exhibited by C. servilia, and the highest mean parasitic intensity was recorded in A. panorpoides (13.75 mites/host). Most of the mite larvae (83.51%) were attached ventrally to the thoracic segments, whereas the ventral surface of the abdomen and wings harboured 16.44% and 0.05% mite larvae, respectively. Besides, a female-biased infestation trend was observed, with overall parasitic intensity of 13.18 and 11.62 in female and male dragonflies, respectively. The findings of this study indicate that dragonflies in the sampling area are actively parasitized by Arrenurus water mite larvae, thereby providing nutrition and dispersal for these ectoparasites in freshwater ecosystems of Bangladesh. These preliminary results reveal a previously unexplored expansion in the geographic range of ectoparasitic interactions between Arrenurus water mite larvae and Odonata and warrant the need for additional research into the potential long-term fitness implications of these ectoparasites for tropical dragonfly populations.

PMID:
42926857
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 25 Oct 2026.

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