Observations on the feeding habits of oribatid mites from the soils of Kerala (Acarina:Cryptostigmata) – Panphytophages

Abstract

Employing suitable staining procedures analyses of gut contents of ten species of Oribatid mites collected from field were made and it was found that they fed decaying parts of higher plants as well as microflora and were therefore assigned to the category of Panphytophages. Eight species were reared in the laboratory and were offererd about 20 different types of food. Some of these latter species showed feeding reactions which did not agree with the conclusions drawn from gut content analyses of individuals collected from the field. This was thought to be partly due to starvation leading to the acceptance of unnatural diets. None of the species was found to accept animal matter dead or alive as food. Generally, nymphal and adult stages of the same species showed similar preference to food though there were exceptions with regard to some food items. No two species reared in the laboratory were found to have exactly the same food preference. The species considered here were thus found to occupy more or less different food niches. The study also indicated that species like Archegozetes longisetosus could play a significant role in the breakdown of leaf litter.