Hyperparasitism in bat flies (Diptera: Streblidae): new records and interaction networks in the Neotropics

• Published in: Parasitology research (1987) Vol. 123; no. 6; p. 255
• Main Authors: López-Rivera, Camila, Robayo-Sánchez, Laura Natalia, Ramírez-Hernández, Alejandro, Cortés-Vecino, Jesús Alfredo, Cuéllar-Sáenz, Jerson Andrés, Villar, Juan Diego, Rivera-Páez, Fredy Arvey, Ossa-López, Paula Andrea, Henao-Osorio, José Jaime, Cardona-Giraldo, Alexandra, Ospina-Pérez, Erika Mayerly, Hidalgo, Marylin, Ramírez-Chaves, Héctor E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Arthropoda; Arthropods; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Chiroptera - parasitology; Colombia; Diptera - microbiology; Diptera - parasitology; Fungi; Host-Parasite Interactions; Hyperparasitism; Immunology; Laboulbeniales; Medical Microbiology; Microbiology; Mites - microbiology; Mites - physiology; New records; Nycteribiidae; Parasites; River basins; Species; Streblidae; Colombia; Ecological interactions; Fungi; Trombidiformes; Streblidae; Chiroptera
• ISSN: 0932-0113; 1432-1955; 1432-1955
• DOI: 10.1007/s00436-024-08221-1

Hyperparasitism is defined as the interaction where one parasite is infected by another parasite. In bat flies (Streblidae and Nycteribiidae), both hyperparasites and microparasites (bacteria, viruses, fungi, and arthropods such as mites) have been documented. Fungi belonging to the order Laboulbeniales are microscopic parasites of a wide diversity of arthropod hosts. Three genera exclusively target bat flies: Arthrorhynchus , which parasitizes species within Nycteribiidae in the Eastern Hemisphere, while genus Gloeandromyces and Nycteromyces parasitize Streblidae in the Western Hemisphere. Among the hyperparasitic arthropods, mites of family Neothrombidiidae, particularly the monospecific genus Monunguis , are known to parasitize bat flies. Here we present the first records of the hyperparasites Monunguis streblida and Gloeandromyces pageanus f. polymorphus parasitizing Streblidae bat flies in Colombia and a summary of these hyperparasitic interactions in the Neotropics. We detected fungi and mites parasitizing bat flies that were collected in the Magdalena River Basin, Colombia, in field expeditions in 2018, 2022, and 2023. We identified 17 bat flies and two species of hyperparasites, specifically M. streblida and the fungi Gloeandromyces . Our search for reports of these interactions in the Neotropics revealed that seven species of  Trichobius  (Streblidae) are parasitized by M. streblida , whereas Paratrichobius longicrus (Streblidae) is parasitized by Gloeandromyces pageanus f. polymorphus . These interactions have been reported in 11 countries, but our records are the first of M. streblida and Laboulbeniales fungi parasitizing bat flies in Colombia. So far, a total of 14 species of fungi and one species of mite have been associated with 19 species of bat flies, which in turn, are linked to 15 species of Neotropical bats.