Daher¹*, M. Kanou¹ and H. El-Kawas
(1) Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria; (2) Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
*Email address of the corresponding author: [email protected]
This study was conducted in 2025 to document, for the first time in Syria, the phenomenon of self-parasitism in the mite species Erythraeus phalangoides (Erythraeidae). The experiment was carried out under laboratory conditions using three types of Petri dishes: (1) a dish containing a larva and an adult of the same species only, (2) a dish containing a larva, an adult, and a prey item (aphid), and (3) a control dish containing larvae only. The results obtained showed that self-parasitism occurred exclusively in the absence of prey, at a rate of 80%, and was observed only on females. This suggested that food deprivation may induce unusual nutritional behavior in the larvae. These findings represent the first scientific record of this behavior within the genus Erythraeus and highlight the need for further investigations into adaptive behaviors in the biological control context.
Erythraeus, self-parasitism, predatory mites, feeding behavior, Syria.
https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-001477