Blankaartia sinnamaryi ( Floch et Fauran, 1956 )

Kalúz, Stanislav, Literák, Ivan & Kolenčík, Stanislav, 2018, The chiggers (Acari: Trombiculidae) on wild birds in Honduras, Folia Parasitologica (017) 65, pp. 1-4 : 2

Blankaartia sinnamaryi ( Floch et Fauran, 1956)

M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d (p r e v a l e n c e): 21 larvae, from Coraciiformes , Momotidae : Momotus lessonii (L: 1/1), Passeriformes , Tyrannidae : Attila spadiceus (Gmelin) (L: 1/2), Troglodytidae : Pheugopedius maculipectus (Lafresnaye) (L: 2/5), Henicorhina leucosticta (Cabanis) (L: 1/3), Polioptilidae : Ramphocaenus melanurus Vieillot (L: 1/1), Turdidae : Turdus grayi Bonaparte (L: 2/15), Parulidae : Helmitheros vermivorum (Gmelin) (U: 1/9). The 21 chiggers were distributed on individual host birds as follows: M. lessonii (7 larvae on 1 bird), A. spadiceus (2 larvae on 1 bird), P. maculipectus (2 and 1 larvae on 2 birds), H. leucosticta (2 larvae on 1 bird), R. melanurus (4 larvae on 1 bird), T. grayi (1 and 1 larva on 2 birds), H. vermivorum (1 larva on 1 bird).

R e m a r k s: This chigger has been recorded in widely distributed area from the southern USA (Texas – Brennan 1965; Florida – Spalding et al. 1997) to Brazil (there B. sinnamaryi has been found parasitising birds, bats, lizards and rodents – Bassini-Silva et al. 2017) and including Costa Rica ( Arnold 1970, StekoĽnikov et al. 2007), CUba (Daniel and Stekol’nikov 2003), French Guiana ( Floch and Fauran 1956), Honduras (this paper), Jamaica ( Brennan 1953), Panama ( Brennan and Jones 1961a, Brennan and Yunker 1966), Peru ( Brennan and Jones 1961b), Suriname ( Brennan and van Bronswijk 1975) and Trinidad ( Brennan and Jones 1960). Brennan and Jones (1960) state this species parasitising six bird orders including six families, 13 genera and 21 species, the most numerous in the order Passeriformes (15 bird species). Bassini-Silva et al. (2017) found B. sinnamaryi on birds of two orders, three families, six genera with seven species and Walters et al. (2011) observed B. sinnamaryi parasitising three bird species belonging to three orders. It also infects the bat Phyllostomus hastatus (Pallas) ( Chiroptera : Phyllostomidae ), 21 bird species of more orders ( Brennan and Yunker 1966) and one species of reptiles ( Brennan and Jones 1960). Blankaartia sinnamaryi was reported also from the Falconiformes and Strigiformes ( Brennan and YUnker 1966). This is the first report of B. sinnamaryi in Honduras. Of the seven bird species parasitised there, M. lessonii , P. maculipectus , R. melanurus , T. grayi and H. vermivorum are new host records.