seasonal abundance and host preference by allothrombium pulvinum ewing (1917) (acari:trombidiidae) larvae on aphids (homoptera:aphididae) of montenegro, with notes on rate of parasitism and new metric

Allothrombium pulvinum Ewing (1917) is a new addition to the fauna of Montenegro. In this paper, we report on the new metric data and seasonal abundance of velvet mite larvae of Allothrombium pulvinum Ewing in a meadow located near Lake Skadar (southern Montenegro). In early July larvae of Allothrombium pulvinum peaked in numbers. Host attachment sites and host preference of parasitism were investigated for this species, parasitizing a sample of 172 aphids. Larvae preferred the aphid thorax as the attachment site and most captured specimens of Aphis sp. were attached by one mite.